Despicable Darkness
by Apathetic Lambchoppi
Summary: Another wrong-boy-who-lived Voldy mentors Dark Harry fic with a cool OC twist. First 10 chaps have been rewritten btw. Harry is smart, powerful, attractive, and everything else he should've been to begin with. Will the Light bring him back to their side before it's too late? FUCK NO! Harry is gonna blast their asses to hell before they can say Quidditch. Enjoy! Slash but not Voldy.
1. First 10 Chapters

Hello all. It's been quite awhile. :D Sorry for the super long wait, and I've not even truly updated. Here, let me explain. **Tonight, I redid every chapter in this story. While the first few, like 1-4 were greatly affected, the last few didn't have many changes. However, I still encourage you to reread so you know what's going on.** I've FINALLY decided to continue this. Mostly because I'm a procrastinator and don't want to study for my Math exam tomorrow or go to sleep. Yeah. I'm awful. Anywho, I'm not sure when I'll update next. Mostly, I just wanted to fix all the errors and whatnot in this from 14 year old me. My first few chappies really sucked btw. And the last few were a deplorable length. Anyways, don't be afraid of the length of this. **It's actually just all 10 chapters of the story beforehand**. I've even separated them into the chapters they were in, so you can stop where you want to. I won't be doing every chapter like this. However, over the past few months and based on what I've learned when dealing with writing, I now write longer chapters so don't expect an update in a few hours. :) Maybe at the end of the week if you're lucky and I have a muse. I'm gonna try for an average of 6,000 words for now on. I think that's a good length for a chappy. Anyways, for **newcomers, welcome!** I'll give ya the warnings and a short summary.

**WARNINGS**: There is **violence, neglect, sexual abuse** (**its labeled so don't worry about it coming as a surprise**) and **future torture scenes** and **other gruesome shit.** There will also be **cursing**, **look to my use of "shit" in such a casual manner**, and there will be a **slash pairing**. If your new to fanfiction, slash means gay, or male on male. I think lesbo stuff is called femslash, but I never read that so idk. This story won't be as intense or awful as Malicious Intentions, which is my fav story I've written so far and has some fucked up stuff, so if your into that go read! so if you've read that you have nothing to fear here. Now, if you can't take any of the stuff listed above, please leave immediately. I ignore flamers, especially ones who go by the name of Guest (COWARDS!) so...yeah. Enjoy! :D

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER.** Why must we put this? I'M NOT J.K ROWLING. If I was her, my fanfiction would sell for millions of dollars. I also wouldn't have to go without cable since its too expensive for my family. Enough said. I will never repeat this, so if you forget for a sec and think I _might _be the creator of the greatest fandom ever, just come back here and refresh your god-awful memory. Seriously, go see a doctor.

**Summary:** When Voldemort doesn't try to kill either Potter boy and ends up fulfilling the prophecy in another way, how will our favorite Potter boy fare? With Remus as a childhood friend and later a young vampire named Sebastian as his best friend (lover?) will being mentored by the great Lord Voldemort make him great or merely a tool for either side? With his intelligent mind, powerful magic, and beautiful looks (I can never resist a pretty Harry :D) he will take the Wizarding World by storm, the vampire clan and his father figure Voldemort standing beside him.

Yeah, I suck at summaries. Deal with it. :D Now go read!

Oh yeah, for anyone who reviewed, thank you so much and sorry for the long wait. As I said, I won't abandon this, and if I do you will be told. :) Any new reviews will be replied to and please enjoy the new and improved Despicable Darkness!

**P.S : A.N at the bottom. Read the bold cause they're questions I'm asking the reader, also meaning you. Please review and answer. :)**

_Words: _Thoughts.

-Words-: Parseltongue

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><p>Prologue<p>

Ch.1

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><p><em>Finally, after all this time, I've found the Potter's.<em> The Dark Lord thought to himself, walking quietly through streets full of bumbling muggle children with unknowingly offensive costumes. Their blatant misunderstanding of what the holiday was _truly _about disgusted him.

With a soft robe as black as the night that surrounded him and dark crimson irises peeking out from under the hood he wore upon a mane of dark chocolate locks, many could say he was the most frightening, and attractive, figure in the street. However, not a single thought on his appearance crossed his mind. He was much too old to care for such frivolities.

His thoughts quickly tracked back to the traitor that waited for him within his destination. That little rat (literally) Wormtail managed to convince the Potter's to make him into their secret-keeper, not Black.

_All in all, he has been pretty useful so far,_ Voldemort thought to himself without glancing to the fool that had just bumped into him by accident. _He will have gotten me into the Potter's house, a feat even my top Death Eaters couldn't achieve. _ _However, he __**did **__betray his closest friends for power that hasn't even been promised to him. No, he just did it out of fear and selfishness for his own hide. _He definitely wasn't to be trusted.

After Snape had told him about the prophecy, Voldemort had had to admit he was intrigued. If what it said was to be taken as truth, Dumbledore didn't have the power to stop him, and he never had. The only thing in the Dark Lord's way was a mere _child._ However, that child would one day turn into a man; a man destined to defeat the great Lord Voldemort.

_Best to dispatch of the little runt now while he was still weak._

The only problem was that that Mudblood had given birth to two children, and both of their birthdays just _happened_ to be on July 31st. What are the odds? He didn't know which one was part of the prophecy, but he had decided it didn't really matter; he would just kill both of them. The world's most feared wizard smirked evilly at the thought.

The best part was that the Dumbledore's "Most Powerful and Brightest Members" had left the two toddlers alone with only a trusted friend guarding them in their absence. Said friend was the one and only Peter Pettigrew. Even though Voldemort would've loved to kill off the two blood traitors as well, this night was for the Potter boy. He needed to get rid of him without interruption. It was much too important.

Lord Voldemort slinked inside unnoticed and began his journey upstairs. The blinding colors of red (not maroon, but that bright ugly red color) and a light yellow color that he was sure they meant to be gold shone throughout the house. It was disgusting really; like they had sprayed the whole house with ketchup and mustard. His black cloak rippled behind him like a dementor's cloak, but without the holes, making him seem like he was gliding, and to all others, he might very well have been.

He looked at the doors and eyed the one that said "NURSERY", in a darker shade of yellow. It was still ghastly, however. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named stepped inside and was met with light pastel colors. _How disgusting, _he sneered. They couldn't even get light blues and purples right! There were two cribs that held two young boys within them. On the right, it said "JASON" and held within it a chubby child with fiery red hair like his mother, but was extremely unruly like his father's, if not more-so. His skin was lightly tanned as well and he was pretty much the carbon copy of his dad, besides the hair of course.

The child slowly looked up and his facial features appeared. He seemed to have gained some features such as the eye shape and mouth from his mother, but his eyes were an admittedly nice shade of brownish-hazel just like good ol' dad. A second later the boy started crying and begged for his "bowwle". He assumed that meant "bottle". Voldemort prayed to whatever deity that existed that this disgusting child would not be his downfall, not that he would allow that to happen. It was just the idea that _that _could have defeated him, the most powerful wizard to have ever lived, was an embarrassing thought.

He had at least hoped the boy would be extremely intelligent or have a very powerful aura, but he had neither. The Dark Lord turned and gazed at the second name-plate. It said "HARRY".

_What awfully mundane names you both have, at least I have the excuse to be named by an idiot squib. You both had intelligent magicals to name you._

He shook his head lightly and took a look at the other young boy. This was obviously the younger one, he didn't know how he knew that, he just had a feeling. He had already awoken, he was not sure when though, and was sitting calmly in the middle of his crib, staring at him with an apathetic expression.

_First time anyone's looked at me like that before. _

He had to admit, he was a little surprised by his appearance. For a toddler, he was actually pretty adorable, which was a response he normally didn't have for children. His skin was a milky-pale color that was ethereal-like. His arms and body were slim, unlike his brother, but he didn't look unhealthy. His hair was as black as his cloak and framed his angular face. The hair dropped in angelic curls that seemed to have attached along his jawline.

His eyes were the most shocking part about him though. They were an emerald color, like the Avada Kedavra curse, and those piercing eyes stared up at him, almost as if they knew what was coming. He picked himself up with a lot more finesse than most two year olds, showing that one day he would be very graceful. He slowly lifted his left arm, as if he wanted to shake in greeting.

"'Wo dere." He whispered.

"You can speak?" Voldemort was beyond shocked now. His words weren't perfect, like an adult's, but they were said much better than any two-year old he had ever heard. He knew that he had been able to speak very early as well, another reason why the matrons had thought him to be devil spawn. It was thought to be _unnatural _to be that intelligent. Voldemort had already pieced together that this boy was most likely the one meant to kill him, but unlike what Dumbledore and many of his Death Eaters thought, he wasn't completely insane and bloodthirsty. He was willing to sate his curiosity before AK-ing the child.

"O'ny bit. Are you da man mwama and dada were talkn' 'bout? The bwad guy?"

He said the words without inflection. He seemed to only be curious; not afraid.

_Yet again, another first with this child. _

"Yes. Yes I am." He said without thinking.

"Are you...he'e to k-kwill me and mwy b'otha?" He looked up at me, red eye to green, and spoke the words with no fear and held the Dark Lord's gaze.

Voldemort thought for a minute on whether or not he should speak the truth, but before he even thought about it his choice had already been made. He cocked his head to the left like a bird, curiosity shining in his bloody eyes.

"Yes, I am. Are you scared?"

For some reason, Voldemort desperately wanted to see if he was just like his Gryffindor parents. Constantly spewing crap like they weren't afraid of anything. Everyone was afraid of something. And even if he hated to admit it, even _he _was. Death. Could a child overcome what he feared most in this world?

"A wittle. But I heawd mwama say dat wone of us was suppos'd to hu't you wone day. I gwuess I 'an ge' you t'ying to sa' yo'sel'. I would p'obab'wy do da same." He gave me a timid smile and leaned over the edge of his crib.

It was odd. This child accepted his fate as if it were nothing. Voldemort had already figured out that the boy probably didn't completely understand what "killing" was, but either way, he was definitely more brave than either of his parents, but not in a Gryffindor way. Gryffindors were brash and fought to defend others for no reason other than it was "moral" and "right". If you used that line of thought, this _Harry _was protecting the Dark Lord from death. No, that didn't make sense at all. It was _odd_ to say the least.

"Would you kill me if you got the chance little one?"

"I don' know. If you t'ied to kwill me den I gwuess so." He frowned at that thought, and Voldemort couldn't help the smile that appeared when he realized the child had completely forgotten his purpose here for a moment. However, that grin faded when he saw a glimmer of fear appear in his beautiful eyes and he knew Harry had remembered.

"Will it hu't?"

Never before had Voldemort ever heard that from one of my victims. Most of them didn't get a chance to talk, and if they did their words mostly consisted of "Bastard!", "Please let me go!" or some other rubbish.

_Will it hurt? _

And all of a sudden he didn't want to hurt this boy. Harry was unlike anyone else he had ever met. With his potential murderer looking at him, all he did was say that he understood why said murderer was going to do it and that he would probably do the same. It was such an odd situation the Dark Lord was in, that he wasn't exactly sure how he should react. As he stood there, completely ignoring the crying child in the other cot and staring into deep pools of bright green, Voldemort thought of what he should do and what complications said choice could, and most definitely _would,_ create. His logic and damn curious hippocampus battled it out in the course of a few seconds, but in what felt like hours. Red eyes met green challengingly and he whispered,

"No, it won't, because I'm not going to kill you." Harry sat back in what could only be described as relief and his pupils dilated back to a normal size.

"I don' ca'e what dey say, I won' do it. I won't hurt you, pwinkie swea'."

He then offered the Dark Lord, _the Dark Lord,_ his left pinkie, and gave him a blinding smile, but not like the blinding colors in the Potters' home. This type of blinding Voldemort liked, and he was pretty sure everyone else on the planet would like as well. It spoke of honesty and a promise. A promise, that at the time, he had no problem with taking as fact. Just as Voldemort took the small, soft pinkie in his own white one, Jason started screaming, "I WANT MWY BWOTTLE NOW!" In his annoying baby-like voice.

He raised his yew wand to put up a _Silencio _charm, but before Voldemort could he was almost hit with a purple blast. He quickly dodged before it could hit him, but it still had to land somewhere, and that somewhere was the back wall, which just happened to crack under the force of the spell.

_What an idiot,_ the Dark Lord thought. _That spell will bring their entire house down_.

Said idiot was none other than James Potter, Auror extraordinaire. He absentmindedly threw a stunner at Potter, wanting to save the rest of his magic to rip through the Non-Apparition wards and noticed a piece of rock fall down and give little Jason a cut on his head. Before he could hightail it out of there, he saw a huge piece of wall come crashing down on Harry. Deciding that his life was important enough to save, the Dark Lord, for the first time in his life, used a protection charm on another for non-manipulative reasons; not realizing that this fulfilled the part of the prophecy saying he would mark him as his equal. Not that Voldemort knew about that part of the prophecy in the first place.

As he was preparing to apparate, he heard the unmistakable tiny voice of Harry Potter whisper, "_T'ank you." _

In the midst of staring at Harry and giving him an _extremely _rare smile that he couldn't resist gifting him, his baby voice was truly adorable, Voldemort failed to notice the burst of green light that hit him in the back. Unimaginable pain flared through his veins and he felt a tear from within his soul. With one last glance at worried emeralds, Voldemort's world turned black.

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><p>What Happened?<p>

Ch.2

"The human mind isn't a terribly logical or consistent place. Most people, given the choice to face a hideous or terrifying truth or to conveniently avoid it, choose the convenience and peace of normality. That doesn't make them strong or weak people, or good or bad people. It just makes them people."

―Jim Butcher,_Turn Coat_

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><p>After that fateful day nothing had ever been the same in the Potter household, but could anyone really expect it to be? A few minutes after Voldemort was "defeated", Lily, the other Marauders, and some members of the Order of the Phoenix apparated to the Potter's home and congregated to the dining room.<p>

Jason had been taken down by James after he woke up, and Lupin had taken Harry after he had noticed that Lily was busy talking to Dumbledore. Harry had always been his favorite, not that he would ever admit it. By his second birthday, Harry had known almost all his ABC's and numbers 1 through 20. He also spoke like the average 5 or 6 year old. It was uncanny, but also nice. Unlike most children, Harry was more of a listener than a talker and it was surprisingly easy to speak with him.

Harry had a way of making anyone who took the time to talk to him feel as if whatever they said or felt was okay, mostly because he was two and didn't hold any type of prejudice or preordained black and white mindset of what was "right" and "wrong". There was no judgment in Harry's eyes, only understanding and acceptance, and since Lupin was a werewolf, he didn't get that from many people, making conversations with him and the look in his eye like a breathe of fresh air. He knew that Harry was just 27 months old, but it was easy to forget he was and Lupin often did. Once Remus picked Harry up he whispered,

"Are you alright cub? Did he hurt you or Jason?"

"You mean de mwan wit' a cape?" Harry smiled with fondness at the memory.

"He was act-u-a'y nice. He said he wa' gonna kwill mwe, bwu' den he didn'."Harry continued smiling at Lupin and all thoughts of You-Know-Who vanished from his mind. It didn't matter that Harry was confused and seemed to think He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was good. His little cub was alright.

"What the _hell_ happened tonight Dumbledore!" Lily yelled while being handed her oldest son by her husband. "You said my sons were safe!"

James saw red for a moment whilst remembering how Voldemort had tried to kill his Jason. Why couldn't the prophecy not exist! Why did _his_ Jason have to be the Chosen One?

"Voldemort must have found a way to convince Peter to give away the location of your home. I'm very sorry, but the question now is who he marked, or if he got the chance to."

Fear for his son made the whole experience warp in James' mind. Instead of what happened; Voldemort pointed his wand at Jason, but didn't get a chance to do anything, he instead saw that Voldemort had shot the killing curse at his baby boy, but it had deflected and hit him, resulting in his death. He couldn't handle the idea of his son having to defeat Voldemort, so his mind concocted a false tale, and told it to Dumbledore.

What James didn't know was that when he had been _Stupified_, Dumbledore had come in and had shot a killing curse at his old student. However, Albus _did _believe that Jason was the Chosen One. Dumbledore himself couldn't possibly be, and he was pretty sure that the cut Jason had, had been made by Tom before he had entered the room, and since he didn't want the Potters to worry, for he truly cared about them, he allowed James' tale to appear true. For the only witnesses were a 2 and 3 year old so there was no one to _dis_prove it.

"So my baby is the Chosen One?" Lily's beautiful moss green eyes teared up a bit at the thought. In the darkest part of her heart she had hoped that it would have been Neville Longbottom. She knew it was wrong, but she loved her babies too much. Why couldn't it have been them? Or _anyone _else?

"Yes. However, that means that Voldemort has marked him as his equal, so he should have the power he knows not."

Everyone gazed wistfully at the child. To all besides Lupin and Harry he seemed to be a perfect baby boy. To Harry he was merely "brother" and to Lupin he just appeared to be a whiny child with a bloody forehead. Personally, Remus had thought for sure Harry was the Chosen One. He had already done Accidental Magic, nothing spectacular, but he was ONLY TWO! Closing a door at his age was beyond amazing. However, he was also relieved. This meant that his favorite cub was safe.

"I believe that the cut on his forehead is a mark created by Lord Voldemort." Everyone but Harry shivered at the name and Jason just sucked on his thumb. In his mind, Voldemort was a nice man. He was a friend.

"Jason must be protected. Since Voldemort is gone, his followers will wish to kill Jason. We must protect him at all costs just in case he ever comes back."

"Comes back!?" Sirius growled.

"Voldemort is a dark lord. There are ways… but it will take him a long time to come back, if ever."

Everyone visibly sighed in relief, but James and Lily secretly blocked out the words. There was no way Voldemort would ever come back. For Jason's sake, and for their whole family's. Jason started whining again for his "bwottle" and everyone cooed and awed at his supposed "cuteness". Lupin couldn't see it. Harry could already speak _a little _clearly and could even have decent conversations. Also, Harry did some of the most adorable things.

_Flashback_

A few months ago, Harry had insisted on making Remus breakfast after a full moon. So naturally, Remus cooked up a few eggs, some bacon, and left Harry to buttering the toast. For some reason, Harry was having trouble spreading it out and accidentally flicked a huge hunk of butter on the ceiling. Harry had looked up, then down, and at Remus's back, not knowing that he had been watching out of the corner of his eye the entire time. He then proceeded to continue buttering the toast with the occasional look at the ceiling and mischief shining in his green eyes. The whole time they ate Harry kept on looking at the ceiling giggling at the fact he thought the whole situation had flew under Lupin's nose. His little snickers were the most adorable thing he had ever heard. Harry truly thought he had gotten away with it and Remus could tell he had inherited the Marauder gene. He also knew at that moment that Harry was undoubtedly the most important person in his life. Who else would, or could, ever make his heart feel this thick with love and happiness? He wanted to cry with all the good feelings that were associated with Harry. By all means other than blood, Harry was his son.

_End of Flashback_

"Of course you can have your bottle baby."

Lily kissed her son and looked to Remus to see if her other son needed any. He shook his head slightly, knowing that Harry didn't like to drink milk after 8, but happy in the knowledge that _one _of Harry's parents had given him some thought. While Jason drank the warm milk, James lightly cleaned his face and realized that the cut was on his cheek, not the forehead. The cut was thick and would undoubtedly leave a scar and was jagged, (like the crack in time in Doctor Who, look it up if you don't watch Doctor Who) cut diagonally, and had little pieces of wood still stuck in it. Dumbledore quickly removed all the pieces of debri and healed the wound as best he could. It still left a faint pink strip though.

"I think it's about time little Jason head to bed James."

"You're right love."

The happy family went upstairs. Completely forgetting about young Harry in the joy of knowing their baby was okay. Lupin felt a bit angry. Yes, Jason was almost killed by You-Know-Who, but Harry had almost been killed as well. _He could've been killed tonight. _With this thought pounding in his worried mind Lupin lightly lifted Harry onto the table and whisper-yelled,

"Are you sure you're okay cub? It must have been so scary for you, seeing him and having him almost kill your brother."

Lupin was already afraid Harry may be traumatized, for he took in his surroundings and understood what was going on unlike most toddlers, but grabbed Harry and checked him for injuries instead, becoming a bit frantic in his actions. Physical injuries he could actually fix, and that's all he wanted to do. Fix his Harry.

_He could have died...He could have died...He could have __**died**_ was the mantra repeating inside of his head.

"Calm down Moony, he's fine." Sirius grabbed onto his best mate's arm. "You-Know-Who must have just skipped over Harry, otherwise he wouldn't be with us."

"He didn' skwip owa me." Harry whispered.

"What was that?"

Harry had never spoken to anyone but Uncle Moony. Whenever he had talked to his parents one time, they had just looked at him like he was crazy, so he assumed he wasn't supposed to talk. Lupin liked to talk to Harry though, however, those mumbled words he accidentally just spoke weren't meant to be heard.

"Harry, did you just talk?"

"Uh..wes. 'owy 'ir." Harry hid his head in embarrassment.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, my boy. I just didn't know you could speak yet! You are only two, yes?"

"Wes 'ir."

_He must be very intelligent, _Dumbledore thought. He had only been able to speak at the age of 3, yet this boy was speaking pretty clearly at 2!

_Perhaps **he** is the Chosen One. _Dumbledore thought excitedly. No, he wasn't marked by Voldemort. It was too bad; Jason's magic wasn't that powerful. Not to say he was weak, he was actually a bit above average, he just wasn't as powerful as Tom Riddle had been, or even himself.

_But Tom Riddle was 10 when you first met him. Perhaps Jason's magic will grow. _

Even though he told himself that, he still looked at Harry with awe. He could almost _taste _the magic around the boy. Yes, he would indeed be very powerful, but alas, he wasn't the Chosen One. Perhaps he could help his brother when the time came to defeat Tom once and for all? However, first he needed to check something.

"So, you remember what happened with Voldemort?"

Harry automatically felt uneasy. He could feel something pushing at his forehead, kind of like the beginnings of a headache. He had only had a few of those, but they always sucked a lot. Just a slight push was aimed at his head, something most wouldn't even notice, but that push let him know that he needed to go along with what his father had said. Besides, he didn't want his friend to be hurt! If they knew he had never tried to hurt Jason, they might get mad and call him a liar.

Besides, while his newest and bestest friend had seemed to get hurt, he felt how powerful he was immediately so it couldn't be. Besides, when Ruby (as he had taken to calling his new buddy) had disappeared, he had felt something enter him, something that told him that his friend wasn't dead. And because of that, he couldn't let them hurt him anymore. Just for trying to protect himself too! Anyone else would have done it; Harry knew he would have. People were just so mean.

"Weah. He wooked ova a' mwe den a' Jason. Den he waid 'omeding and some wight hit 'im." He gave the old man his most innocent stare and made sure to pop out his bottom lip for good measure. Dumbledore nodded jovially. He knew the boy's memories had been influenced by his father's story, just like he thought they would be.

"Of course. Well, best be off, good day Remus, Sirius."

He nodded at all three of them and disappeared with a _Pop!_

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><p>I swear to god, feels like I'm writing Scooby Doo when it comes to Harry. The pains of trying to be realistic…. Sorry if its hard to read. If you don't understand something, please, do tell. :)<p>

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><p>Bad Memories<p>

Ch.3

"All people cross the line from childhood to adulthood with a secondhand opinion of who they are. Without any questioning, we take as truth whatever our parents and other influentials have said about us during our childhood, whether these messages are communicated verbally, physically, or silently."

― Heyward Ewart

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><p><em>3 Years Later<em>

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><p>"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Jason! Happy Birthday to you!"<p>

It had been three years. Three _long _years since the Dark Lord had "marked" Jason. Harry could barely remember the day himself. Only a sense of...kinship lay with the thought of Voldemort. Not the feeling most associated with him, or so he had been told. Ever since Jason had "defeated" Voldemort, everything had changed for the worse for Harry.

There was no type of physical abuse, in fact, they actually weren't very abusive towards Harry at all. However, the blatant favoritism his parent's ended up expressing for their first son hurt the five year old's heart. In Harry's mind, their neglect and favoritism was worse than any beating. At least hitting Harry meant they felt something for him, even if it was hate. Before Harry's fourth birthday, it hadn't been nearly this bad. Harry had still hung out with the family, played Quidditch, and even had all the books that Jason didn't want that Dumbledore insisted on buying him for his birthday.

The poor sap couldn't even read yet, but Harry guessed the Chosen One _had_ to have some desire to learn. Right? Since he was going to have to kill Voldemort and all? But I digress. Harry's only safe havens, now, were in the Potter library, which only he frequented and at times his mother, and Uncle Moony's home. However, Remus's... _ailment_ and work at Hogwarts had been keeping him quite busy. Harry thought back to the day it had all changed.

The day where all signs of affection for Harry were wiped from his parent's hearts and minds. The day where a single present and a special gift gave him a one way ticket to Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, a hell not even the Potter's meant to lay upon poor, sweet Harry.

_Flashback_

Harry was sitting in his favorite dark purple chair he had asked his mother to buy him a year ago when he had expressed his want to be surrounded by more _cool _colors, and watched as they cut Jason another slice of vanilla cake with red icing and a golden snitch in the middle. It was Jason's fifth birthday, making it Harry's fourth as well. Harry didn't really like cake (unless it was Red Velvet mmmm) but the sentiment would have been nice.

No one really even recognized it was his birthday, besides Lupin, but he was the only one. Yes, his mother and father had both said "Happy Birthday!" one time and had given him a few gifts, but it was obvious that the party was mainly for Jason. Harry couldn't help the jealousy that churned in his gut. However, it all disappeared when an older werewolf came over with a glint in his rich amber eyes. Jason had just finished opening up his last present and he guessed Lupin had finally decided it was time to pay little Harry a visit. He carried with him a long, tall wooden box that was dark in coloring. It was nothing special, except for the fact that the box had holes on the top.

"This is from Sirius, cub. He said to wait on opening it until he had arrived. I know that _you're_ patient, but if he doesn't come in the next 15 minutes, I say damn him!"

Lupin reached little Harry in two more strides and gathered him up into a hug. Harry knew that Remus was joking, but only _he_ cared about Harry this much. Even Sirius didn't disregard Jason on his birthday, but Lupin did without a second thought. Harry knew that with his love it didn't matter. He could survive as long as that wasn't taken from him.

"However, you _can_ open mine. I know that you'll love it."

Harry took the other present. It had a dark green wrapping with a silver embroidery and small purple stars. Lupin knew that Harry loved these colors and made sure to follow that color scheme. Harry slowly took the wrapping paper apart while Jason ripped off the wrapping paper on his last present with greedy fingers. Harry came upon a small dark purple book with silver lettering, like the embroidery. It said _Property of Harry J. Potter- May the Dreams within these Pages Mark the World Forever._

"T-Thank you." Harry didn't know what to say. It was the best present he had ever gotten.

"I enchanted it to have an unlimited amount of pages, but still stay the same size. Also, the writing inside can be changed to any language you want and writes in green. I know how much you love that color."

Lupin smiled down at Harry's beautiful face. He still looked like a little angel. He wouldn't have been surprised if he sprouted wings one day. And the astounded and grateful look on his face could have sustained him forever. As long as his little cub was happy, as long as he had that expression for the rest of his life, he would never want for anything else.

"You are the best Uncle Moony! I owe you so much. That's why my first project that will be in these pages will save you."

Remus smiled lightly at his cub. _Always thinking of others before himself. _"You don't owe me anything cub. But, what's your first project?"

Lupin didn't just put those words "may the dreams mark the world forever" for no reason. Harry was a genius. He may not be able to do much magic yet since his core was still forming, but he was already excellent at potions. He had at least the skill of the average first year. He had also almost mastered a second language, Latin. And with that, French, Spanish, and other languages would come more easily to him. He also had some general knowledge on all the subjects at Hogwarts, even though he couldn't actually do anything with the knowledge. Control over his magic would come in time and Lupin knew that he would be one of the most powerful wizards in the world.

"I'm going to cure you Remus. I know how much you hate being a werewolf. I'm going to save you like you save me every day."

Those words almost made Lupin cry. Harry said it with so much confidence and conviction that for a small moment, Lupin even believed him, but he dare not let himself hope.

"You can try cub." Lupin gave Harry a sad smile.

"I'm not going to try Uncle Moony." Harry whispered after a small pause. Remus looked down at him with confusion and a bit of disappointment, but it was quickly disposed of. It _was _a daunting task after all.

"I'm _going _to find the cure. There is no room for failure Uncle Moony. Not for you."

Harry smiled up into Lupin's amber and yellowed eyes, a side effect of the curse, and that smile reached into those eyes into his soul, lifted it up, and put a small ball of light into it. A light that Lupin did not believe would ever shine within him again. A light labeled _Hope._ Right then, Lupin knew Harry would do it. For if Harry couldn't, no one could.

"Okay. Now back to your presents!" Lupin knew that if they kept talking like that he would cry. Harry just gazed at him with knowing eyes and lightly held Sirius's present in his small white palms. He gently smoothed his hand over the wood and felt for any movement. Unlike what most four year olds would do, he didn't shake the box.

"There must be something living within. Why else would there be holes? There's no latch so whatever it is must be asleep. Could Uncle Padfoot spell the animal so it didn't wake until it was called?"

Harry gazed wistfully at the box and yet again Lupin commended him for his logical mind. Not many wizards had skills in that department and he was happy Harry had gained that as well as many other skills.

"Just wait till Padfoot arrives. It's probably linked to him in some way." At that moment said crazy person bursted into the house.

"How're my godsons' birthdays!" Only Lupin and Sirius ever took Harry's birthday in account. Everyone else just thought this day was special to the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Padfoo'!" _Jason still has that annoying baby speech impediment _Lupin thought. Harry had gotten rid of that completely by last year. Sirius smiled down at one of his godsons. Jason still had lightly tanned skin and those beautiful hazel eyes that had a bit more brown than blue. Granted, he wasn't as beautiful as Harry, but he was still adorable. His auburn hair (it had darkened a bit with age) was tousled and he looked just like his best-friend James. He also had a bit of red icing stuck to his upper lip. After he had given Jason his gift he went over to Harry and Lupin, who were in the corner.

"How's my favorite godson! You enjoying your birthday!" Sirius loved both of his godson's equally, but he knew that his parents treated Jason a bit better so he made sure to call Harry his favorite.

"Time to open up my present. I made sure to have a little surprise inside. Hehe." Sirius had noticed Harry being interested in certain creatures, so he had decided to buy him one.

"What's tha!" Jason's little pudgy fist hit the table. In his mind only _he _should get presents.

"It's just a birthday present from Uncle Sirius."

"Well, best bring it over here so we can all see you open it." Lily said in a happy voice.

"Of course." Harry gracefully walked over to the table and sat down. Lupin sat beside him, Jason sat across from him, and Lily and James sat on either side of Jason. Sirius sat at the head of the table. He clicked his fingers, and the creature within started crashing about. Harry quickly let go of it, not wishing to hurt the animal, and the box slid to the middle of the table. Jason looked curious, and Lily and James looked a bit fearful. Sirius just had a funny look on his face and Lupin looked worried.

A small dark blue, almost black, snake slid out of the box. It had a line of gold trailing down it's sleek back and it's scales glistened shades of purple, indigo, and green. It's eyes slowly opened and they were a deep golden color with a black pupil. It was the most gorgeous thing Harry had ever seen. Lately, he had been fascinated with snakes and it looked like Sirius knew it. The only thing Sirius didn't know was how rare and powerful this snake was. It was the mix of a regular Black Mamba and subspecies of the Basilisk. This type of snake was born of the Black Mamba mating with a creature that was related to the Basilisk, or maybe the Basilisk itself, but Harry doubted that. Snakes like these would have poison powerful enough to kill someone in 5 seconds flat, if not sooner. It opened it's mouth and it's fangs were black, but it's tongue was golden, like his eyes.

_Magnificent. _Harry thought. He did not deserve to lay his eyes on such a powerful and rare creature. Let alone _own _it. Said snake slowly began hissing. Obviously it was just a babe, otherwise it would know not to be afraid. Wizards or not, it could easily kill everyone in the room, and Harry knew it.

-Get away from me! I ssshall kill all of you!-

To Harry, the snake sounded afraid. He didn't know why no one was trying to calm him. Jason was crying by now and his parents looked at the snake in fear and anger. Sirius just looked as little freaked out, like he was wondering why everyone was scared, and Lupin just looked shocked. Harry decided that the snake must just have the power to speak English sense he was so rare and spoke back to him.

-You need not worry friend. My family and I have no intentions of hurting you. Where are you native? I shall take you back to your home and soon as possible young one. When my Uncle bought you he must not have known how rare and special a snake you are. No one should own you, for you are as powerful as they come. Please accept my apologies.-

Harry made sure to use the most polite words he knew. He had been reading _Pureblood Etiquette for Idiots _for some time now and tried to sound as much like that as he could.

-You are a ssspeaker?!- The snake turned away from all the other wizards and set his golden eyes on Harry, which seemed wide with disbelief.

-Um, yes, I suppose. I thought you were speaking English. Am I speaking a different language to you?- Harry took his eyes off of the snake and looked at his family. They were all staring at him with mixtures of disbelief and fear.

"No! This can't be! There is no way a child of mine would share the tongue of a dark wizard. Evil!" Lily grabbed Jason, who was still crying in fear of the snake, and James just looked at Harry with a mix of disbelief, anger, and fear.

"What do you mean? What dark magic? I was just telling the snake he had nothing to be scared of. How is that dark?"

Harry looked from his parents to the snake, which had now arched his back in fear, which looked like attack mode to his family, because of the abrupt movement.

-Pleassse ssspeaker. Don't-Don't let them hurt me.- The snake curled over to Harry and nudged him on the arm.

-No one will hurt you. I promise- Harry gazed at the snake with a mix of sadness and determination to protect this poor animal from whoever had the audacity to hurt him, even if that was his family. Forgetting about the looks of disgust on his parents faces, Harry went to console the poor, shaken snake.

-You have no need to fear. In my presence nothing will ever hurt you.- Harry put out his hand to the snake and it gratefully slid up his short arm. He was just a little longer than Harry's forearm, but he knew the reptile would grow _much _larger. The snake nudged his head into Harry's neck and Harry allowed him to slip his small head into the crook of it. The snake sighed and seemed to be sleeping.

"Whoa Harry! I had no idea you were a Parselmouth! I mean, that's cool, but still!" Sirius whispered. He had known Harry had an interest in snakes, but he guessed this explained it. If he could talk to a certain type of animal he would be interested as well.

"That is _not_ cool! You-Know-Who could talk to snakes. That's dark magic! How could you Harry!" James seethed. He decided that his unprecedented dislike towards his younger son was now supported by the fact that he was so obviously practicing dark magic. How else could he be a Parselmouth?

"I'm sorry?" Harry questioned. So he could talk to snakes. Big deal! Snakes were wonderful, beautiful, and intelligent creatures!

"You have nothing to be sorry for Harry. It's a wonderful gift to have." Lupin said these words with utmost conviction. How dare Harry's parents look at him in such a way! Harry was a beautiful genius who just happened to be able to talk to snakes. They should be proud!

"Whatever. Just get rid of that snake Harry or I swear to MERLIN! And if it ever touches Jason I promise you will regret it!"

That was the first time his parents had ever threatened Harry, the moment Harry knew that his parents hated him. That was also the moment his new-found snake-friend decided to protect his new master. Or at least, that's how the snake thought of Harry now.

-Don't you _dare_ threaten young massster!- The young snake found courage in the fact that someone had the audacity to threaten his friend. No one would ever dare to attack the duo ever again! However, the only thing the Potter's saw was a very dangerous snake uncurling around Harry's upper arm and neck in a fashion that was very scary. Then, said dangerous snake, started hissing at them, golden eyes glowing. All in all, the young snake made for a very threatening sight and Harry's parents decided their son was more important than Harry's "evil" intentions.

"Just get to bed Harry." With that, his supposed "family" left Harry alone with the only two people in this world that still loved him.

"Harry-"

"No," Harry cut off," it's alright. I know that you have Auror stuff to do. Thank you for the gift. Really."

Harry gave Sirius a smile and Padfoot, not wanting to get _anywhere _near that snake, gave Harry a quick ruffle to his ebony curls and got out of there. Before Lupin also took his leave, he grabbed Harry's shoulders, ignoring the snake completely, and whispered,

"Harry, I know that must have been hard for you, but just know that you are perfect; no matter what your parents say. I really have to be leaving cub. Don't be a stranger."

The only thing Lupin didn't know was that hidden in his eyes was the one emotion Harry never thought he would see in his favorite person's eyes. _Fear. _Lupin gave Harry a hug, even though the snake glared at him through slitted eyes, and left. Leaving Harry alone in a dark dining room, thinking over what had just occurred before his very eyes.

* * *

><p>Meeting an Old Friend<p>

Ch. 4

"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone."

― Rose Kennedy

* * *

><p>Dumbledore, at the moment, was sitting in his office and contemplating one special little boy. Jason Potter.<p>

_He'll have to defeat him one day, _Dumbledore thought. _I'll have to train him. He'll need every advantage he can get. But what about the other, Harry?_

Dumbledore argued with himself, trying to rationalize the plan he had been putting into action through a few potion-filled lemon drops every week or so for Lily and James. _Tom will most likely target Jason at a young age, I can't worry about little Harry getting hurt as well. Tom could also take Harry and use him as bait for the other Potter's. No...Harry can't stay there, it's for his own good. _

With that, Albus Dumbledore decided the fate for Harry Potter.

"Someplace else he could stay? I completely understand your plan Professor, but where could he go? I definitely won't put him in some Muggle Orphanage, he's my son after all." James said. Truthfully, James and Lily had both been thinking about sending Harry someplace else. It was the best thing for Jason. They just didn't know that Dumbledore had been dosing them and had been feeding them those thoughts for the past few years.

"What about your sister, Petunia? I'm sure she would be happy to take little Harry as her own."

"But she hates magic Albus! She wouldn't take him."

"You'd be surprised what family will do for family." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. Since Lily was too focused on Jason's well-being, and her mind was muddled with Albus's potion, she just accepted it. Harry would be fine. Right?

_The Next Day_

"What the hell are you talking about James!" The Potter's had just finished explaining to Remus and Sirius about where Harry had went.

"It's for the best Moony. Harry will be safer away from all of this. You-Know-Who might attack for all we know!"

Lupin thought this over in his head. He wanted to keep his pup safe at all times, but why couldn't he bloody visit! So he voiced this question aloud.

"For one, we don't want You-Know-Who learning of Harry's location. If he did, he might use Harry to get back to us. Also, the Dursley's don't approve of magic. If we came there all the time they would have a heart-attack!"

"I-"

"Just stop Moony! Do you realize how hard this is for us! We just want what's best for Harry. The second that bloody Dark Lord is defeated Harry will be brought back to us."

Lupin stopped right there. Of course! Even though the Potter's weren't a huge fan of their son they would still care a little.

"At least tell me where he is. We can't leave him all alone without his family!"

"We told him what was going on in a letter. He understands Moony! Also, we've put the _Fidelius charm _on the house. If we tell you, the spell will be void."

It broke Remus's heart, but he had to agree. It was all okay. He would see him when he was eleven. As long as his cub was safe everything would be alright. As long as he was happy.

"Fine. Just- he'll be safe right? No one can harm him?" Lupin stared at his two friends with eyes full of sadness, but acceptance.

"Of course he is. There are no better hands."

_Two Years Later_

Hell.

They say that place is hot. They say that's where you go after you've died and you've done things God doesn't approve of. They say that's where the murderers, rapists, thieves, and other people who don't do what's _right_ in their lives go to after they've died.

Harry had no idea what he had done in his life, or previous life, but it must've been pretty bad to have been sent here.

Little Whinging was a suburban neighborhood filled with average cars, average lawns, and average houses filled with _supposedly_ average people. The people within Number 4 Privet Drive were anything but normal. Within their hearts was an abnormal hatred for anything that wasn't what they deemed "right". Petunia was envious. Little Duddles was just an ignorant child who followed whatever his parents thought, and Vernon, well, Vernon just hated Harry.

Throughout the two years Harry had been a resident of Number 4 Privet Drive, he had been stuck in a cupboard, denied food for days or weeks at a time, pretty much made into a slave, and been beaten bloody so many times Harry had lost track. At the moment, Harry was going on his second week of solitary confinement and was lost in thought. What he didn't know was that Dursley had lost his chance at his first promotion in a decade and had gotten himself drunk. Petunia and Dudley were safe up in their rooms, fast asleep, but Harry wasn't so safe.

**WARNING: Harry is going to be raped by Vernon in the next scene. If you don't wish to read, which I don't blame you if you don't, skip over. You don't need to read it for you to follow the story.**

Lately, Petunia had been on her you-know-what and hadn't been wanting to have sex. Therefore, Vernon had been horny for quite some time. He decided (in his drunken mind) he wanted to have sex. If that had to be with Harry, so be it. Besides, one reason why he hated the damn boy so much was because he reminded him of his more attractive older brother, whom he had always had _mixed _feeling about. Both had had the pale skin, dark curly locks, and feminine features. Everyone had _loved _him while they scorned Vernon for his obesity and average-ness. That's one reason why he and Petunia got along so well.

He unlocked the cupboard door and looked upon Harry. At age 6 Harry had grown up a bit. He was still thin, just like before, but now he looked a bit _too_ thin from malnourishment. There were bruises littered across his pale milky skin and he practically glowed in the dark. His ebony curls curled around the nape of his neck and wide beautiful emerald eyes gazed at Vernon fearfully from his small cot.

Vernon grabbed him and removed what little amount of clothing he wore at the time and roughly pinned two bony wrists above his head in an uncomfortable position. Just for fun he grabbed one of Harry's fingers and broke it. Harry screamed, and in the midst of that scream Vernon entered him. The pain was unimaginable. Throughout the whole thing Harry just prayed silently to himself _Please make it stop...Please make it stop...I'll do ANYTHING. _The only silver-lining Harry could find was that his Uncle was so small that Harry didn't tear. Vernon decided to grab onto Harry's special place and tugged. Now, not only was Harry in extreme pain, but he was _violated._

"Just know that you deserve this you little bitch. You're parents _left_ you here. You deserve nothing, you little _freak_."

He finished and left Harry in his cupboard, making sure to wipe his small amount of seed wherever he could. Harry grabbed onto one of his shirts and cleaned himself off after a few minutes of his mind being stuck in a complete haze, refusing to believe that what happened _happened_. Like most children, he hid the memory away and didn't think of it again. However, after that, Harry couldn't resist weeping, for what else was he supposed to do?

**You can read again now :)**

Vernon didn't say anything about what had happened in the morning except for one sentence.

"If you tell anyone, they either won't care or won't believe you."

And they both knew it was true. So Harry toughed it out. He fixed them breakfast and took the cigarette burn his Aunt gave him without complaint. He cleaned the house and took the beating Dudley gave him with only the smallest of whimpers. After he had gotten his daily "screaming at" Harry went outside and ran to his only safe place. On top of a hill just a few yards away from Little Whinging stood a beautiful willow tree. The wind rustled it's many leaves and Harry took a seat underneath it. What Harry didn't know was that there was a man beneath that tree as well. Harry laid his head back on the cold wood and almost didn't hear an odd hissing coming from a few feet behind him.

How odd. There was a child just sitting beneath the tree. He didn't look more than 5 years old.

-Nagini. Do you sense danger from this child?-

The boy turned his head sharply at his hiss. He was a true beauty. His pale skin and ebony locks framed a pair of glistening Avada Kedavra green eyes. He had a small nose and a pair of bow-shaped lips. Lord Voldemort had never seen anything so innocent and beautiful looking in a very long time. Not since that fateful night that he had failed to kill the boy of the prophecy. The night Albus dealt him a stunning blow that had taken him almost two full years to recover from. However, there was no way those two boys were one and the same. The Potter's were a rich, Light family. They would never leave one of their own alone.

"Hello?" A small voice whispered. It had the sound of a child, but was spoken in the way of an adult. It was odd to say the least.

-No, I do not master. He smells of blood and fear. He has been damaged.-

Voldemort took a closer look at him with those words. The child had many bruises that varied in color littered all across his would-be pale, unblemished skin. His left ring finger was bent at an awkward angle. One of his pink lips was swollen and split. He could also see what looked to be a cigarette burn on his right shoulder.

"Hello child. May I ask who you are?" The boy looked up curiously. He did not seem afraid.

"Before I tell you, may I see your face?"

Voldemort smiled mentally. At least the child wasn't a complete idiot. He walked out of the darkness. Voldemort hadn't changed much over the past few years. If anything, he was more handsome. Almost immediately after his "death" he had stolen the Philosopher's Stone from Gringott's while he possessed a goblin who supported his cause. After about a year, he had perfected the formula and his new body had been created.

He made it just like his old one, but this time added the ability to change into a snake-like visage. It was easier to manipulate if you were good-looking and there were plenty of witches and wizards that were neutral, however, with some you had to go about with a more..._threatening _approach. Looking like a crazy snake, forked tongue and all, was definitely the perfect form for that tactic. He hadn't been able to make either form's eye color change though. All the dark magic had permanently made his eyes a deep crimson, not that he didn't like it. In his human form it could just be called a unique mutation, and in his other it was just another aspect that made him scary as hell.

Those red eyes gazed steadily into emerald green. Then those green irises widened into surprise and, dare he say it, happiness? Who was happy at the sight of the Dark Lord?

"Hello there, Ruby. I haven't seen you for awhile. My name's Harry, Harry Potter."

Voldemort just looked at him in surprise. The boy he had failed to kill, just sitting here under a tree? With injuries no less!

"Yes, we haven't talked for awhile. You remember me?"

"Of course! You didn't kill me and my brother even though you had every reason to. I owe you Ruby. Or is it...Voldemort? Lord Voldemort?"

Voldemort let a smile grace his features. His understanding astounded him. A mere child saying that he owed him for not killing him! He was grateful! How...weird. Especially for a child of the Light. Speaking of…

"Where's your family Harry?" The name tasted weird in his mouth, yet right at the same time.

"They left me Lord Voldemort." Harry's eyes hardened. There was anger there, but mostly just a deep, deep sense of betrayal and sadness.

"They had hated me ever since I talked to that snake. Then they sent me…" Harry's eyes changed from sadness and betrayal to just a burning hatred and a hint of fear.

"You talked to a snake?" Voldemort didn't know how this was possible. He was the only Parselmouth in existence. There was no way he and Harry were kin!

"Yes. It was a beautiful snake, born of a subspecies of a Basilisk and a Black Mamba. Incredibly rare. I don't know where he is now. He was my first non-adult friend." Harry's eyes brightened at the memory of the snake.

-Ssso you can understand thisss- Nagini intervened. She couldn't speak English but she could understand it.

-Yes. You are a powerful snake as well. I can feel you from here Great one.-

Even though Voldemort had known of Harry's abilities he was still surprised. He concluded that when he was killed, something must have happened to give Harry that skill. He really needed to figure out the specifics though...Harry got up to bow to the snake, which he felt was proper, but winced at the effort of standing up. He was still sore from his encounter with Vernon.

"Get back here boy! It's time for dinner!"

"Please, I-I, I can't go back there. He..._did things." _Those beautiful green orbs took on a haunted look no 7 year old should have. Voldemort thought this over for a minute. _Could I take him? He seems to hate the Potter's, as he should, and he seems to dislike whoever he lives with. Hopefully they're muggles._

Voldemort then decided something that would change the fate of the entire wizarding world.

"Don't worry young one. You won't be going back there. You'll be coming with me, to your new home, and family." And for the first time since Lupin had given him his journal as a birthday present, Harry smiled for real.

* * *

><p>Escape, Finally!<p>

Ch. 5

"It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace."

― Chuck Palahniuk, _Diary_

* * *

><p>-Why didn't you sssave the sssnake-child massster?-<p>

Only Nagini still dared to speak to him in such ways. And only she posed worthy questions.

-Don't worry my sweet. He shall be saved. I need a plan though first. Not only do I need to figure out how I'll incorporate him into my plans, but I need to make sure his love for his previous family is gone. I can't have a traitor living within my wards.-

Now that Voldemort had seen Harry again, he remembered why he hadn't killed him in the first place. Not only was he extremely intelligent for a boy his age, but he could _taste _his magic in the air. There was no doubt that this boy was the Chosen One. Voldemort had already checked out the supposed defeater of him previously. He was nothing special. Lord Voldemort knew that Harry would be very useful, not to mention what a harsh blow it would be for the Light to see one of their children to be the heir of their greatest enemy. The shock and disbelief would be so _sweet. _

All of these thoughts covered up some of the true reasons why he wanted to keep the boy. How Harry painfully reminded him of his younger self. How intelligent and kind the boy was, and how the idea of raising someone as his own appealed to him greatly. Nagini picked out the lies and uncovered the truth quickly, but kept it to herself. As long as her Tom was happy. it didn't matter if he lied to himself.

-Of course massster. Thank you for exxxplaining.-

-You're welcome pet.-

* * *

><p>Harry couldn't take it anymore. It had only been three days, but those three days had been filled with agonizing pain from his Uncle. The fat man had... <em>taken <em>to their midnight activities and Harry had decided he had had enough. He couldn't wait for Ruby anymore. Not that anyone knew, but Harry could control his magic a bit by now. Only small things, like levitating a book, or unlocking doors. And that's exactly what he did. He unlocked his cupboard door, stole about 50 notes out of his _Uncle's _wallet and was almost out the door until someone came behind him and hit him across the head. Harry fell to the ground with a _thump_.

_I would recognize those pudgy hands anywhere._

"Where the _hell_ do you think you're going you bloody freak!"

"Out." Harry whispered. He could feel wetness on the back of his neck and he could barely focus his sight.

"Yeah, sure you are you worthless bitch. You're going to go exactly where you belong, in the ruddy cupboard like the tool you are!"

Harry was done. Those words had been forced into his ears for so long that, yes, he did believe them, but it didn't mean he wasn't going to fight. He may be worthless, but this fatass was worth even _less_. So, with hate in his eyes, he punched his Uncle in the area that had defiled him so many times and made his way into the night with these words following him: "YOU ARE WORTH NOTHING POTTER!"

* * *

><p>-He is not here massster! Sssnake-child is gone!- Nagini hissed.<p>

-What!?- Voldemort had decided he was done waiting. The past two days he had watched Harry since he had wondered what kind of abuse he had been put through. It had only taken a day to get his affairs in order for Harry. To say he was shocked with his treatment would have been an understatement. The only reason he had not killed the Dursley's himself was because he knew Harry would one day want to. For he had wanted to kill his father after all those years, along with everyone inside of that bloody orphanage. He had meant to save him the second day, but he had Death Eater business to take care of so he had sent Nagini to watch him. Nagini had come back earlier that day and they were planning on rescuing Harry that same day.

-We will find him Nagini. And we will save him.-

* * *

><p>It was so cold. After Harry had left, he had run over to the city, which wasn't too far from Little Whinging, and had hoped to find some help. What he didn't know was that his head injury was quite serious and that he hadn't been able to run that far. Now, he was bleeding out between two garbage cans in a dark, dank alleyway. Not the most pleasant place to die, but Harry was just happy that his last sight wouldn't be that floral wallpaper. He couldn't get those words out of his mind though.<p>

_You are worth __**nothing**_ _Potter. _He knew he was worthless, but it still hurt to hear. He had hoped his dying mind wouldn't be filled with thoughts of the Dursley's but he couldn't help it. Those awful people had marked him, forever and ever.

"Hey, are you alright brother?"

Harry looked up into the eyes of the most beautiful person he had ever seen, not that those thoughts formed within his pounding head. He had dark-chocolate hair that was straight, but full. A bit of bang fell down over his clear forehead. He was tall, or at least tall for what looked to be a 10 year old, and had a lean form. There was a slight muscle indent underneath his clothes, which consisted of a dark pair of blue jeans that were tight around his thin, seemingly never-ending legs, and a tight dark-blue V-neck shirt.

His skin was just as pale as Harry's but his blue veins stuck out a bit more. They didn't have bruises like Harry though. The most attractive part were his eyes, like with most people in Harry's opinion. Underneath perfect, elegant eyebrows, were a pair of deep blue pools. There was no other color within. Just a never ending dark blue. Those eyes were now crinkled in concern for the damaged boy between two garbage cans.

"Not really. I think I'm about to die."

Harry suddenly became afraid. He had so much potential! He wanted to see Uncle Moony again. He even wanted to see Rudy, or Voldemort again. He wanted to _live_.

"C-can you help me? Please?"

The dark blue pools tightened with concern and determination. There was also anger, at what, Harry had no idea. He also saw a hunger, but Harry didn't think about that right now.

"Of course. What's your name brother?"

"Harry, Harry Potter" And everything went black and Harry saw no more.

* * *

><p>New Friends<p>

Ch.6

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you."

―A.A. Milne,_Winnie-the-Pooh_

* * *

><p>It was so dark. It was also so warm. Harry hadn't been in such blissful silence for so long. The only time Harry had been able to sleep peacefully was when Vernon Dursley hit him across the head so hard that he passed out. This, was, well, it was peaceful. And Harry never wanted it to end. He had already been through so much...but it was not to be.<p>

The only way he would ever be forced out of his non-thinking comfort was if he thought about thinking, and that's exactly what he did. So he opened his eyes internally, saw up the sea of darkness and peace and swam up to the pain of reality. What he was met with wasn't exactly what he had expected. Instead of the pain of his injuries, the feeling of hunger from not eating for days, and the headache from magical exhaustion since his core was pretty much the only thing that kept him alive half of the time the Dursley's beat him up, it wasn't like they were going to take him to a hospital, he felt only the slightest numb sensation in his right arm from laying on it awkwardly, but once he shook it off he was perfectly fine.

He hadn't felt this good since, well, since he had lived with the Potters. He looked down and saw that he was wearing a light green hospital gown. He slowly stood up and took in his surroundings. It looked to be that he was in a cabin of sorts. However, the wood didn't look cheap like a regular cabin. This wood looked old, but he could feel the power that emanated from it. Magical users had lived here for a _long _time. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if the elves from _Lord of the Rings _had saved him because that's how it looked.

Unlike with the elves though, there were no windows. The room just seemed to glow with it's own light. Harry looked down at the edge of his bed and saw a small stack of clothing and a pair of dark green converse with black laces. Then Harry looked to his right and saw what looked to be a bathroom. He only did what was natural, he went to take a shower.

He slowly entered the warm embrace of hot steamy water a literally sighed in contentment. He hadn't felt a warm shower in over 2 years, so he knew how to appreciate it. Harry had always been a fan of showers. Unlike most boys his age, he didn't enjoy being dirty.

He rubbed all the leftover grime off of his now unblemished milky white skin and was glad to see that he didn't have any scars, except for one long whip mark down his side, but he had had that for a long time and wasn't surprised to see it. It was just a light pink strip, but it was still there. He left the shower just before his fingers could start pruning and took at look at his face. He had filled out a bit, but he still looked unnaturally skinny. His bright emerald eyes stared back at him without bags underneath. His face wasn't covered with bruises and his lips were no longer split. He had never looked better.

He ran a hair through his raven-black locks, which were now curling at the edge of his jawline. He put on a pair of boxers, dark-blue jeans and checked out the shirt he had been given. It was dark-green and a V-neck similar to that of the boy who had..._Oh! _Harry thought. _Of course! That boy saved me and I'm now at his home. Perhaps he's a wizard or something. _He put on the shirt, happy to see whoever had given it to him had taken his small size into account.

"I'm happy to see that I didn't have to kiss Sleeping Beauty to make her wake up. I have to say that would have been mighty uncomfortable for the both of us." The boy who had saved Harry looked exactly the same except now he just had a pair of black pants on and a royal purple shirt, V-neck of course.

"Please. You would have loved to kiss these wonderful lips and you know it." Harry gave the boy a cocky grin, abet a weak one. If he wanted to play _he could play_. He was feeling pretty great after all, so he pushed all his trauma to the back of his mind and decided to have a bit of fun.

"I'm not so sure. After all that heavy making out I'll want to take a bite out of you love. You sure you're ready for that?" The boy's eyes went from dark blue to an indigo and his teeth sharpened to fangs.

"Oh! No way. You're a vampire? I can't believe I didn't recognize it before!" Pale skin with extremely blue veins, hypnotic aura, tall lean body, he was so obviously a vampire that Harry was a bit disappointed that he had not seen it before. Near death or not. Harry went over to shake his hand but was stopped by the confused look on the other boy's face.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, I'm coming to shake hands with the person who saved my life! What, you expected me to just blow you off afterwards?" Harry gave the boy a lopsided grin and took a seat on the other side of the bed. He may not be trusting of most people after what he had been through, but this kid had rescued him.

"But I'm a vampire. And you're a wizard. Don't you guys think we're _beneath_ you?" The boy sneered at the thought. Harry could barely believe it. He had saved his _life_. It didn't matter if he was a freaking Inferi, Harry owed him a Life Debt.

"I don't care what you are. You _saved _me when no one else would. I owe you everything." Harry turned his lopsided grin to a serious expression. This boy couldn't believe he'd actually care about that.

"I- okay then. By the way, I'm Sebastian, Sebastian Verlac." Sebastian's face turned from surprised and confused to happy and relaxed. Harry quickly took his hand into a firm grip.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sebastian. I'm Harry Potter." Sebastian just grinned even larger and right then Harry knew that this would be a friendship that would last a lifetime.

"Don't I know it."

* * *

><p>A Vampire's Thoughts<p>

Ch. 7

"You may not remember the time you let me go first.

Or the time you dropped back to tell me it wasn't that far to go.

Or the time you waited at the crossroads for me to catch up.

You may not remember any of those, but I do and this is what I have to say to you:

Today, no matter what it takes,

we ride home together."

―Brian Andreas,_Traveling Light: Stories & Drawings for a Quiet Mind_

* * *

><p>It had been near two weeks, and Harry and Sebastian had spent almost every moment of it together. They, at first, had just talked about silly things. But nearing the end of the week had led to more deep conversations. Never before had Harry felt so open with another person. They both were intelligent and had powerful opinions, especially on blood supremacy. Sebastian was surprised to hear Harry's opinion on the matter.<p>

"In my opinion, the only creatures in this world that are not equal to each other are muggles and magical folk. You and I, we are equals. The only thing that makes a creature better than another is age, knowledge, and experience. Your clan leader and I, well I'm so below him we aren't even on the same playing field. However, muggles are awful. Not only was I raised by them, but anytime that I went to school, no one ever did anything to help me. When I was beat up that is. When my Aunt would... _abuse_ me in front of everyone in the grocery store, no one did anything. They are a terrible people and deserve everything that's coming to them."

"You truly think us equals?" Sebastian was beyond surprised. He didn't really care about muggles, but he hadn't been hurt by them. However, he would have thought all wizards thought them better than anything that wasn't "pure blooded". It was a pleasant surprise, but Harry had been full of those lately.

"Of course Sebastian. If anything, you're better than me." Harry gave him such a humble and compassionate smile that Sebastian couldn't help but give him a hug. Harry stiffened, but returned it.

"And what was that about?" Harry grinned.

"That's the first time anyone's ever said I was their equal...I'm one of the youngest vampires here, and since I'm a born vampire, it's assumed I'm less powerful. Father is nice, but everyone else in the clan always underestimates me. Th-thank you Harry."

And from there their friendship flourished. Harry still wasn't comfortable talking about his past, but Sebastian didn't push it. He knew Harry had been traumatized badly. While he watched his new friend he thought back to the day he had saved him. It was almost funny now how he had actually planned on _eating _him. Not that he still didn't want to, but Harry was more than that now.

_Flashback_

This was his first hunt. Alone at least. The moon was a silver disk in the sky and he could hear all the hearts pumping around him. He was finally going to prove himself to his clan. He would finally be worthy of being his father's son. Suddenly, Sebastian caught an intoxicating scent in the air. It was wizard's blood, but not just that, it was _powerful _wizard's blood. The more magic in a wizard or witch's blood the better it tasted and this blood was not only powerful, but young and uncontrolled, making it even more delectable.

He followed the smell and was met with a sight that made him stop and stare. In a dark alleyway between two garbage cans was what looked like an angel that had fallen from heaven. He knew that was an extremely cheesy thought, but it was _true. _His bloody, broken body was twisted into the fetal position. His pale, perfect skin glowed in the dark and was littered with cuts and bruises. His small hands were curled up in the center of his small, skinny chest. His dark, ebony curls were dirty and the light reflected red off of them from blood from a head wound. His face was covered in grime, but he still managed to be the single most beautiful creature Sebastian had ever seen, including himself.

Just as he was about to grab the boy and fulfill his urge for blood, the young child opened his eyes. And what eyes they were. His dark, long lashes cast shadows over high cheekbones, but the second those eyes were open that's all you could look at. Sebastian had only seen the Avada Kedavra curse once, but this boy's eyes matched that color exactly. They shown with pain and horrors unknown to Sebastian at the time. The sight of him literally took his breath away. At that moment he knew he wouldn't be able to kill him. This boy was too beautiful, too _perfect _to be killed.

"Hey, are you alright brother?" The boy's eyes widened with surprise at the sight of Sebastian.

"Not really. I think I'm about to die." The tone of his voice was almost joking, but then his cat-like eyes shown with a new emotion. _Fear. _It broke Sebastian's heart to see.

"C-can you help me? Please?" At that moment Sebastian knew he would do whatever he could to save this poor, helpless boy.

"Of course. What's your name brother?" He had to know. He had to know who he was _just in case._

"Harry, Harry Potter." And those beautiful green eyes disappeared and the vampire and wizard disappeared into the night.

* * *

><p>Vampire Clan Leader<p>

Ch.8

"They may fight with us, but they don't fight for us."

―Christopher Paolini,_Eldest_

* * *

><p>"So, I get to meet him finally?" Harry and Sebastian had been talking a lot lately, especially after Sebastian shared that secret about himself and Harry made it fairly obvious that he had been abused, even if he didn't give out details. Neither mentioned their slip-ups and both were grateful for it. It was just that they were both each others first friends their age, so they were bound to be a bit more open than normal. However, that tie of mutual trust was now present and both of them were definitely aware of that.<p>

"Yeah. He really isn't that bad. Honestly, if you act how you normally do, a pompous prick, he'll probably like you, especially since your prickishness is always centered on _me." _Sebastian pouted.

"Sure, you know you deserve it. Constantly acting like you're better, smarter, wittier…"

"It's not acting if it's true!"

"Whatever, and you know prickishess isn't even a word right?"

"See, your prickishess _is_ always centered on me." They both bursted into laughter at Sebastian's mock expression of hurt.

"Okay softie. If that hurts you need to grow some serious balls."

"Your words damage my heart in so many ways love. I don't think I'll be able to go on!" Sebastian put his fist against his chest and fell back into one of the chairs in their library.

"Now don't you go dying on me-"

"-I knew you cared!"

"-I still need to see your father. Afterwards, be my guest." They both glared at each other for a moment, green eye to blue, until Sebastian got fed up and lifted pale arms so Harry could lift him up.

"Must I drag your lazy arse everywhere?"

"I do believe so. My legs appear to have stopped working."

"Yes, I'm quite sure. You _poor_ thing." Harry smiled and lightly shook his head and started dragging Sebastian to the door.

"Hey! Be careful with the goods! This body is model material, no use in damaging it!" Sebastian pulled away and wiped imaginary dirt off of his maroon turtle-neck. Harry had been sure that he only had V-necks in his closet, but today he had managed to prove him wrong.

"Alright princess. Lead the way." And they were off. Harry had already given up on trying to find his way around the castle. There were so many twists and turns that you would just have to naturally get a feel for the place. Since Sebastian had grown up here, he obviously had that _feel_.

He led them to the edge of a dimly lit hallway that ended with a pair of at least 20 ft. tall doors with two huge bronze knockers. The door itself was a dark mahogany and was adorned with a golden embroidery that was most likely real gold. There seemed to be splashes of what suspiciously appeared to be _blood _on the doors.

_Vampires and their need to appear creepy. _Harry would never get over how funny it was.

Sebastian made the doors move with his mind and they were greeted to a very elegant sight. The room was circular and had dark red walls. There was a single light source right in the middle of the room. It was a dark-gold chandelier that shined brilliantly, like a small sun. The room seemed to be filled with Gryffindor colors, except these colors weren't bright or flashy, they were deep and sophisticated. They were also quite morbid, but Harry didn't mind. In what looked to be expensive bleachers that went around the entire room, was pretty much the whole clan of vampires seated. They all _almost_ looked related. It wasn't that they looked the same, it was that they all put off the same aura of: _If you fuck with me I WILL KILL YOU. _It was kind of humbling in a way.

In the middle of the room were two men. One of them looked similar to Sebastian. He had his dark, straight hair, and the same pale skin that all vampires had. The only thing that was different was for one, he was more muscular, built like a freaking wall, and he had light blue eyes. Eyes that were so light they were almost white. They were abnormal, but hypnotizing. On the other side of the room was another tall man adorned in black-as-night robes. Long pale hands with equally long pale fingers slipped out of the openings of the robe. His had elegantly styled dark-brown, almost black, hair that gave off a red hue. Underneath that was a pale face without blemish and a pair of maroon eyes that couldn't be mistaken for anyone else's. At the moment his face was composed into a confident smirk and he was twirling his wand between his spidery fingers.

"_Ruby?" _Harry whispered. But since no one was speaking, his whisper could be heard throughout the room clearly. Voldemort's head snapped up, smirk now gone. Nagini slithered from his neck, something Harry hadn't noticed, and went towards him.

-Sssnake-child? You are alright?-

At the same time Voldemort whispered, "Harry?"

"I see you two know each other. I can't say I know young Harry yet, but I believe introductions are in order!" The Vampire Clan leader clapped his hands and the doors behind Sebastian and Harry closed. Harry quickly recovered himself. Over the years he had learned how to control his emotions, at least on the outside.

"Yes I believe they are." He drawled. He knew he would have to be confident in front of the leader, even if he didn't enjoy being in the center of attention. He needed his respect. While he didn't act it with Sebastian, Harry was actually very quiet and insecure. He also knew that what exactly had happened with his _Uncle _the last few days he had been with him hadn't quite sunk in yet. However, the past two years of abuse hadn't just magically disappeared. He knew how to act though, and act is what he did. The clan leader's eyes sparkled at Harry's comment. Harry glided up to him, not bearing a single glance for anyone else in the room. He lightly bowed and said clearly,

"My name is Harry James Potter. I am indebted to you and your son for my rescue." He lifted his head up at this point and stared into the cold eyes of the immortal vampire.

"Please allow me to help you in any way possible my Lord." Harry put his eyes back on the ground, not daring to look back up. Harry wasn't an idiot. This man could kill him in an instant and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it. However, he couldn't help but add one more thing to his speech, hopefully judging the old vampire's personality properly from what Sebastian had told him and from how the clan leader had acted beforehand. Otherwise, he was toast.

"However, your son is a great prat. I hope to Merlin he doesn't get it from you."

For a moment no one did anything. Then, just as Harry expected, he laughed. His laugh was a deep, rich sound and Harry found himself enthralled by it. Harry took a peek at Sebastian. He just looked like his regular cocky self. Looks like he expected that too. Everyone else just looked shocked. Voldemort had a blank look on his face, and Harry wouldn't have expected anything less.

"Don't worry young Harry. He gets that all on his own. Rise." Harry straightened himself in a way no 7 year old should be able to.

"I have a feeling we are going to get along _just fine._ Someone can finally knock my son down a peg or two, and I can get humor out of it. I have not laughed like that in _ages." _The vampire lord gave Harry a feral grin that anyone else, besides Voldemort and Sebastian, would have cowered away from. Harry just found himself giving him a feral grin back. This role wasn't the hardest to play. The lord's eyes burned brighter at the sight. Before he exited the room he said in a low voice that managed to be extremely loud,

"And Harry, please call me Claus."

* * *

><p>Ch.9<p>

"People aren't born good or bad. Maybe they're born with tendencies either way, but it's the way you live your life that matters. And the people you know. Valentine was Hodge's friend, and I don't think Hodge really had anyone else in his life to challenge him or make him be a better person. If I'd had that life, I don't know how I would have turned out. But I didn't. I have my family. And I have you."

―Cassandra Clare,_City of Glass_

* * *

><p>After Claus had left, all other vampires besides Sebastian in the richly decorated room promptly disappeared. Harry was still in a surprised position. <em>He had actually befriended a clan leader. <em>And one of the most powerful clans at that.

"Nice job brother. It wasn't necessary to make the snide comment at me though." Sebastian slapped Harry across the back and smirked at him.

"You know it was." They both grinned at each other, but then Harry focused his sole attention upon Voldemort, who was still standing in the middle of the room, a blank mask covering all emotion on his face.

"Hello Ruby. It's been awhile." Harry gave him a timid smile and started twiddling his thumbs.

"What did you mean by "saved you"?" Voldemort's voice was in a monotone. Harry had no idea how to respond, so he just told the truth.

"I tried to leave and my Uncle beat me. I escaped, but was bleeding to death in an alleyway. Sebastian took pity on me and brought me here." Harry shrugged at the end, as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Why did you save him?" Voldemort turned his cold eyes on Sebastian. Harry couldn't help but approve of the question. Why _did _Sebastian save him?

"He was pretty and I planned on turning him. Either that or keep him for long-term feeding use." Sebastian said the words without feeling.

"Why didn't you?" Harry asked while turning towards his first-ever friend.

"You tried to shake my hand." Sebastian's frosty tone turned to that of warmth. For the first time Sebastian's smile wasn't a grin, or smirk, or anything cocky. It was just..._honest_.

"Well. Good thing I'm not a total prick like you then." And they both laughed. They laughed until it hurt.

"Not that I want to interrupt, but I want to speak to you Harry, _alone._" It sounded like a request, but they both knew it was a command.

"Of course." With that Harry bid Sebastian leave and they both left the beautiful room.

* * *

><p>"Harry, do you wish to stay here?" That's one thing Harry decided he appreciated about Ruby. He cut to the chase.<p>

"I like being with Sebastian. He's kind and we have a lot in common." And it was true. Sebastian was Harry's first friend and he had every intention on keeping the friendship forever.

"But, you do realize that he will be training to become a clan leader soon, correct?" Harry hadn't thought of that. Yes, Sebastian had _talked _about it, but it had never seemed real.

"Why should that matter?" Harry whispered. Even when angered Harry would not yell. That's what a child did. That's what _Jason _and _Dudley _did.

"Because Harry, becoming a clan leader requires absolute dedication. He'll have to focus completely on his studies. He will also have to go through physical training. He won't have time to spend on his friends." Harry took every word Voldemort said like a blow to his heart. Yet again, no one wanted him. Yet again, he was going to be tossed away like trash. _He was nothing and would always BE NOTHING._

"I- thank you Lord Voldemort. I appreciate the warning. I'll...I'll get my stuff and um leave." Harry felt empty. All alone again. _I guess good things can't last forever._

"Harry, no, you misunderstand. I didn't tell you this so you would go out on your own. I was inviting you to stay with me in _my _home. If you wish to, of course." Harry's eyes lit up at that. _Someone wanted him. _Someone that didn't have to keep Harry, that was just doing it out of the kindness of his heart, was allowing him to stay with him. Harry could scarcely believe it.

"What's the catch?" Harry knew this couldn't be for free. No one was that kind.

"I only wish that you would allow me to properly adopt and mentor you. I will not let an idiot reside in my household. I will also not take you as a guest, but I will take you as family." Harry thought this over in his mind. _I could have a family again. _Voldemort actually saw Harry's eyes light up and he knew he had him.

"Then I have one catch as well." Voldemort frowned. _What could he want?_

"What is it?"

"Allow me to call you...father."

* * *

><p>Goodbyes<p>

Ch.10

"I am leaving, but I am living. I will not be gone from you entirely, Will. When you fight now, I will be still by you. When you walk in the world, I will be the light at your side, the ground steady under your feet, the force that drives the sword in your hand."

― Cassandra Clare, _Clockwork Princess_

* * *

><p>After that talk with Voldemort-<em>no, <em>father, Harry had quickly ran out and made to gather up all of his possessions. He had a family now! He had a _father. _Someone who actually cared for and loved him. The only problem was that he would have to leave Sebastian. It just wasn't right! But it had to be done. Sebastian would never have forced Harry to leave; he knew it. However, Harry didn't want Sebastian to be distracted. He had responsibilities after all, and Harry was anything but selfish. He decided to make it out to be his own choice. He would understand. Then Sebastian, and he, could both be happy.

"Harry! What are you doing? I thought we were gonna try and make tweaks to the Wolfsbane potion again." Sebastian looked over at Harry, who had just finished packing his last potions book away.

"I'm going to go live with Ruby. He asked me to be his _son _Sebastian! You-you know how much I want a real family. He's offering me that." Harry whispered the last part of that. No need for everyone to know his weaknesses.

"But, I thought you liked it here?" Sebastian had a sad look upon his face. He had just made a new friend who actually understood him and now he was just leaving!

"Of course I do, but...I want my own start. You're going to train to be the new clan leader. I need to find my own place in this world. And besides, its not like we can't talk to one another. We can always owl."

"I- Harry, I'll miss you though." Sebastian mumbled that last bit, almost like he couldn't believe the words were coming out of his mouth.

"I know. And I'll miss you too. Don't worry, my friend, we _will_ meet again. I promise you that. How long will it take for you to train?"

"Well, the average trainee takes around three years."

"See! Just three years. I'll only be 10 and you'll be 11, it's not like our childhoods will be over."

"But what if I'm not the same after? What if I forget about you?"

"Really? That's your fear! How about this, _just don't forget. _Besides, I probably won't be the same either. The Dark Lord is going to mentor me after all."

"Then what if you forget me?" Sebastian now looked really scared. Harry had never seen him like this before, but he _had _only known him for a few weeks.

"Here, how's about a compromise. Every 6 months, we meet one time and talk about what we've learned and gone through so far. And, in between, we owl each other. We can make an oath too so neither one of us can get out of it." Harry held out his arm, preparing to swear upon it.

"No. Too risky. There might be some sort of emergency, then you couldn't come, but it wouldn't be your fault. No, we can just promise each other. I know you're good for it." They both smiled at each other, friend to friend.

"May your gold flow-"

"And your enemies bleed." With that, they hugged, and two bodies who unknowingly shared the same halves of one soul went their separate ways.

* * *

><p>Ugh, editing that whole thing was a bitch. Hope you liked! :D Now, I definitely won't be updating this weekend. I know I mentioned up there ^ I would, but that was yesterday and turns out I have a Bio exam on Monday. Jenna has to study and make sure she doesn't get behind. If you have any questions on where I'm taking this or just want to either criticize or praise me, please do. :) People seemed to like this even when my writing was still kinda bad (not that its amazing now haha :D) so now that I've edited it and made it a bit more realistic (what was with me wanting a super baby Harry?) and how Harry just seemed to forget all trauma when he met Sebastian (he still hasn't quite accepted it yet and he was mostly acting. Harry will be more calm and introverted around everyone but Sebastian and Voldemort. And Claus of course since he knows he prefers bold Harry :D) The next chapter will mostly be about Harry growing up with Voldemort and with letters from Sebastian. It'll kinda be like a montage. I have one question though. <strong>Should I have Harry befriend the other Slytherin people or make it a surprise when he heads to Hogwarts? (not telling when, even though its kind of a cliche time, can you guess? :D haha)<strong>

**UPDATE ON 9/25/14: Does anyone care if I change Harry's name? I might or might not, I'm actually writing the next chappy now, but he's gonna be at Hogwarts next so I was just curious. Please, if you care tell me. I don't need to.**

Please review people. It makes me wanna write and gives me inspiration. Have a wonderful existence and I hope this wasn't a complete waste of time!


	2. A New Life

Hello again. :) Looks like I DID manage to update this weekend. WOO! It was only because I decided to procrastinate on studying. I'm such a lazy ass. ANYwho, I'm gonna go ahead and reply to reviews, which there weren't many of (mean glare) :D but I hadn't expected much. I didn't actually write anything _new, _I only redid everything. This'll be the first new chappie since, like, January. How about that! :D Anyways, shout out to watchheart8969 and Mashkai30. You're amazing for writing me a review! :D Hope you guys enjoy.

Btw, my length is what I promised. A solid 7,179 word length, not counting the A.N. How I have grown! :D Your welcome for the longish chapter and enjoy!

-Words-: Parceltongue

_Words: _Thoughts

_**"Words"**_: Dream

~~~: change of POV, but only if it's an abrupt change. Sometimes I do it mid paragraph when my characters are all talking to one another in the same room or telepathically (future), but if one leaves the room and I switch to their POV, expect that sign.

* * *

><p>Ch. 11<p>

A New Life

"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."  
>― L. Frank Baum<p>

* * *

><p>"Harry, welcome to your new home." Voldemort whispered.<p>

In front of the two powerful wizards stood an immaculate building, or more like mansion. It was extremely tall; it must have been at least three stories. Beside the one tall structure were two more, each only about one to two stories. Every part of the house was perfectly symmetrical, something both Harry and Voldemort took pleasure in for some reason. The building itself was a cool stone with dark rock accenting it. There were five windows that fell across the entire structure in a straight line and one large door stood in the center, white wood gleaming in the sun. In front were many different trees, some bearing fruit in fact. Flowers could be seen everywhere, but surprisingly, all the different colors didn't feel oppressive, like they did at the Dursleys. Here, the beauty of them was like a breath of fresh air.

Even though Harry couldn't see the back, he knew it would be beyond gorgeous as well. For a moment, Harry forgot his new father (the thought seemed to always bring chills and a smile to his face) was even there; distracted by the beauty of his new home as much as he was. In response, Harry merely nodded distractedly and grinned even more brightly, and Voldemort couldn't help but smile as well. Harry's happiness was too infectious to ignore, even for a Dark Lord. He gently led him inside, noticing Harry flinch, but understanding why so he didn't comment. Harry would heal soon enough; he wasn't weak.

As they entered Slytherin Manor, a place none of his Death Eaters knew about, bare the Malfoys, since he regularly spoke to them of what information Lucius could manipulate from Fudge and other Ministry officials, which was unsurprisingly quite a bit. If he hadn't known the Malfoy's had complete loyalty to him, he would have been quite wary of both; Narcissa and her mate were extremely slippery and ambitious, just as a Slytherin should be. Snape _might_ know of it as well, even if Voldemort was a tad hesitant to do so. Not only was Severus a master Occulems and Leginims, which meant the Dark Lord would always have trouble figuring whether or not his cunning Potions Master was speaking the truth, but he also had a strong love for the mudblood, Lily Potter. Since she was so firmly with the Light, Voldemort was not sure which side he spied for, his or Dumbledore's. However, the Dark Lord was sure Harry could form a bond with the Potions Master, who was extremely loyal to those he cared for, and had a weakness for green eyes. Since Harry didn't look much like his father, more like Lily than anyone, Voldemort was confident Snape would soon love Harry as much as his own godson. Soon enough though, hopefully little Harry wouldn't like either of his parents.

As he stepped inside his home, he was greeted with the usual house elf taking his cloak, Jiddler he thought her name to be, but was also met with a sight that unwillingly warmed his cold, dead heart. Harry, with those damned adorable black curls and glistening emerald eyes had his bow-like mouth open wide in untamed awe. His small white hands slowly went to cover it, a light blush dusting his fair cheeks in embarrassment. Voldemort knew exactly what his future adopted son was thinking. His house _was _wonderful after all. As you enter, you're greeted with the regular Slytherin colors, but with a bit of a more homey change. Instead of cold green and molten silver, he had decided to cover the walls in a forest green and dark wood. To the right you could see the living room, which was made of the same dark wood, but the walls turned to cream.

As they moved on, Voldemort spoke of each room and Harry just nodded, still unable to speak through his joy. The dining room was made in a navy blue and gold instead, but the floors were still dark. As they moved upstairs, Voldemort skipped over the training rooms that he would show Harry in the coming weeks and the guest rooms. He showed Harry each of the bathrooms, not that he really needed to. Of course his heir would have his own bathroom in his room, but it was always nice to know where things were. The walls in the hallways were the same dark green as downstairs, but the wood was a bit lighter. As he reached the final floor, he showed Harry where his own quarters were and then showed the small boy to his. The Dark Lord had left everything white, wishing to allow the boy to make it whatever color he wished. However, if he dared to make it an overbearing red and yellow he would quickly change it to something of his own choosing. Such things would _never _be in his home.

As he watched Harry's angelic face, he could see the boy's eyes tearing up, so Voldemort quickly took his leave, completely understanding what the boy was going through. Even though he wouldn't tolerate such a show of weakness in the future, he knew what feelings the boy had, and he was even younger than Tom Riddle had been when he felt them. It was only natural for him to not be able to control himself. However, he knew Harry wouldn't want his new father figure to see him in such a way, so he left, for once taking into consideration another's feelings.

It was too much to handle.

Harry distantly heard Ruby tell him to just touch each piece of furniture, think of a color, and it would change to that, but his mind was on other things. However, he thanked him internally for leaving. He needed time to control himself. Harry went to the first armchair he saw and changed it to a familiar purple and sunk down into the soft, plush seat.

_Is this even real? _He thought to himself; one tear unwillingly falling from his eye. _I don't deserve this. Vernon must have knocked me out and this is all a dream. Freaks don't deserve such great dreams though._

Just as he was about to let another tear fall, he realized that it _was. _

_It **is **real.  
><em>

He took a look around the room and immediately thoughts of all that had happened to him, all the pain and hurt, were whisked away at the promise of a new life. Now, he had a _father, _and an actual friend, who just happened to be a vampire. While he wished Moony, and maybe even Padfoot, were there with him, he knew it was for the best that they stayed behind. If Remus ever came back, of _course _he would welcome him with open arms, but if he denied Harry, which would hurt so much he didn't even want to _think _about it, it would be for the best. Not only were they on opposite sides, which he didn't even know what each stood for now that he thought about it...but but no matter how much Remus loved him, he was still friends with the people he hated. Even if he could never wish for the hurt or death of his first friend like he did his previous _family_, he would not beg for him back. He was stronger than that.

Thoughts of the future filled his mind like hydrogen peroxide, burning away bad memories as if they were infections, and they _were, _in a way. As he gained control over himself once more, Harry touched each piece of furniture in his room, reveling in the fact all of this was _his. _Besides his journal, he hadn't had any possessions or anything of his own since he was five. He made the walls a dark, royal purple and the carpet a midnight blue. The sheets, which were silk he was gleeful to notice, were silver and the comforter was a dark forest green like the first floor's walls. He made the bathroom a maroon, for a reminder of both Remus's Gryffindor roots and Ruby's eyes. The rest of the tiles were just a cream. All the wooden furniture was a dark wood, like the dresser, wardrobe, bookshelf, and desk. There was only one large window in his room, which he was excited to see had a window seat, and he colored the curtain to match the dark blue floor.

All in all, he was extremely pleased with how his room looked. He was mostly excited for the chance to fill his large bookshelf though. He could practically _taste _the knowledge that he was bound to learn here. It was undoubtedly without bounds. After two years of beatings and no books, besides the muggle ones that Dudley refused to read for school, Harry was dying to read something magical. Muggle history, science, and math were all very interesting, but public school first grader books could only entertain him for so long.

Harry slowly walked out of his room and followed the feel of Ruby's magic. Even though Harry was especially sensitive to magic, anyone could feel the Dark Lord's power without even trying. Green converse squeaked on the floor at first, but Harry lightened his steps immediately, a skill he had sadly needed to learn to steal food from the Dursleys at night. He noticed that Voldemort had gone to the third floor, which was actually only a single room. Harry felt the wards pass over him and judge him fit to enter. What greeted his sight was something he had been depraved of for _far _too long. Books upon books upon _books _filled the whole floor to the brim. In the center were a few couches and lamps, and the walls were almost completely covered in large bay windows. The carpet was dark green, a color he was now getting used to seeing a lot, and the walls seemed to be a silver color, like his sheets, but with all the windows you could barely see the walls.

Sitting in one of the two armchairs was Ruby, clad in only a white button up shirt and black pants that shimmered like his robes had. It was weird to see the Dark Lord's feet; they were far too white to be normal. Blood red eyes glowed like molten lava once Harry had finished observing his figure. Just as Harry was about to blush, he stopped himself. Voldemort lifted one corner of his mouth in a dark smirk, but Harry could feel the approval behind those powerful eyes. He lightly waved his boy over and Harry walked silently, like a cat. He sat down in the opposite chair, oddly loving the feeling of being eaten by it. As he got comfortable, Voldemort didn't move from his relaxed position, but Harry could feel the man tense; knowing that they were going to speak of _very _important things.

"Now Harry, for you to live here with me there will be some rules and things you will need to know and be prepared for…"

And as Harry listened in rapt attention, the Wizarding World's fate unknowingly changed for the worst, or maybe, in fact, for the best.

_8 Years Later_

"_**You best be quiet you bloody freak and get in your damn cupboard!" A thick fist smashed into his face, blood falling like tears. "How dare you get grease on Petunia! You'll wish you'd never been born when I'm through with you." **_

Harry woke up in a flash, faint memories of one of his first punishments at the dirty muggle's home quickly being stowed away behind thick Occlumency walls. However, unlike he would have many years ago, the need to cry or hide away didn't arise. While he did have nightmares about them every now and again, there were worse things to be afraid of. Besides, one day he would kill them off and spill every last drop of their dirty blood, proving that he was better and more powerful than them in every way. They were nothing to, and compared, to him.

Harry slowly rose, cracking his back on the way and went to take a shower. His room and bathroom were still the same colors that he had made them when he was seven. He never wanted to forget that day, for it had been one of the best of his life. After his father had spoken to him of the east and west wings, of how he was never allowed in there and if he dared to enter either he would be severely punished and a few other things, like his training. In a little under two years he had learned the West was where Voldemort stored his prisoners and Potion's lab, which contained many dangerous ingredients, and the East was where his Death Eaters went to meet with him. However, at seven he hadn't been quite ready to know of the war and of the… _interesting _people he had employed, so Voldemort hadn't told him right off.

The first few months of his stay had strictly been getting to know his new father figure and reading up on magics and other things. Since Voldemort hadn't yet decided to announce his "not dead" state to anyone but the Malfoy's, who gathered most of his outside information for him, he hadn't been busy with anything to do with the war. Therefore, he spent all of his time with Harry, whether it just be sitting in the library quietly together, just reading, or having debates on magic or philosophical things, like whether or not bloody purity mattered or of the things wrong with their world in general. Mostly, all of these debates until he hit about 11 or 12 were just Voldemort telling Harry what he thought and influencing him. Harry, as he had aged, could now see how his father had manipulated him. Now though, he could see the flaws and truths of Voldemort's ideas, and he mostly agreed with him. Harry had even managed to change some of his father's opinions. He was pretty sure only he had ever successfully even _attempted _that without being cursed to oblivion, let alone actually succeeded. But over the years, he and Ruby had gotten quite close. Even closer than he and Sebastian were and _definitely_ more than he and Moony had ever been.

Thoughts of Moony still pained him though. Even though he wished his overprotective, yes, Lord Voldemort was _overprotective_, father would let him go on raids like Aunt Bellatrix and Lucius, he was secretly glad he hadn't. If Harry was faced with Uncle Moony or Padfoot, he honestly had no idea what he would do. He only knew that he would _never _be able to harm either of them. He just couldn't. Thoughts of Aunt Bellatrix and Lucius brought a smile to his face while he washed. At age 13 he had been introduced to Malfoy for Pureblood etiquette training. Also, as Voldemort had started preparing for war again, he needed a teacher to keep him on track with his lessons. At 14, he had met Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband, and his brother. At first, Harry had been a bit wary of the three. Azkaban had left them a tad..._unhinged. _Soon enough though, just a little over three months, they had all warmed up to each other. Bella could be surprisingly motherly and both Lestranges were excellent teachers. Rabastan, who was Bella's husband, specialized in the Dark Arts like his wife, but Rudolphus taught Harry Ancient Runes and Warding. Harry had been very interested in what they taught and just happened to have a natural talent in both subjects.

While he did well in all subjects, he still struggled a bit in Transfiguration and whenever his father didn't teach him History of Magic he was beyond bored. He had always done extremely well in both Potions and Charms, something Ruby always secretly told Harry that he got from him. Speaking of his father, as Harry stepped out of the shower, he took a look at his appearance, something that was actually quite different from what he had looked like beforehand. The reason why he looked so different was because of Voldemort, or as he now had the right to call him, father. After only a few short months the Dark Lord had asked Harry if he wished to _actually _become his son. Not only in relationship, but in blood. After another month of brewing and preparations Harry had undergone the ritual to actually become his father's son.

Now, the ritual didn't completely rid Harry of Potter blood, he was disappointed to find out, but it made Voldemort, or Tom Riddle, the most prominent figure in his creation. For an example, if Harry ever decided to undergo a parental test, the only name that would show up would be Tom Riddle. This also legally changed Harry's name to Harry Riddle. Besides that, there were a few changes to his appearance, but not many. It turns out that even beforehand, Harry had looked very much like his father in his youth. One of the most prominent changes was his body figure. Before, he had been very petite and just overall tiny, like Lily. Now, he shared his father's figure, slender and lithe, but still had a small layer of muscle. His skin had also matched the white, creamy shade of his father's. He had also grown, but that hadn't shown until he was about 12. At 15, he was now a solid 5'10. While he wanted to be as tall as his father, 6'3, he knew he couldn't inherit everything.

Sebastian still insisted on tormenting him on his short size compared to everyone around him. He often bragged about his tall, 6'2 height, but it was an old game that they both enjoyed, knowing that there was no actual spite involved. Besides, it just made him quicker and more agile. Mostly, his face stayed the same. Same light, but sharp bone structure, high cheekbones, bow-like lips, and slender eyebrows, which had actually curved a bit like Voldemort's after the ritual. The second largest change in Harry's opinion had been his eyes. Instead of the solid green he had had beforehand, now he had a solid black line that circled around his entire green iris. His father had said that when he was a boy, he had had the same line when he still had blue eyes. Now, that line was just a darker red than the rest. Harry was glad for it though. Now, his eyes glowed even more dangerously.

He smirked in the mirror, not realizing that it was the same smirk his father often wore, and changed into his usual clothing, white v-neck, dark navy jeans, and his first dark green pair of converse. He had never had the heart to get rid of them, same as the clothing his best friend Sebastian had gifted him. Every time he grew he would just enlarge them. He also made sure to keep them in good shape. He knew it would hurt him if they ever broke or became unusable because then he wouldn't have any reason to keep them. He ran a hand through drying coal-black curls, still disappointed that he hadn't gained the straight dark-brown locks of his father. With them, he never managed to look his age. Every time he pouted about them Voldemort would laugh, which would make him love the dark curls instead, since anything that made the usually cold man happy was worth keeping forever.

Today was a big day for Harry. It would be his first mission for his father. After weeks of begging, not that he would ever admit that he had, bare a few torture sessions from Aunt Bella, and big glistening emeralds that his father could never resist, he had caved and told Harry that he could go on a mission. After an excited and very expressive letter sent to Seb, an emotion he would only let either this father or Sebastian see, and two weeks of extremely strenuous training at the hands of Bella, Lucius, and the other Lestranges, Ruby had conceded into allowing his son to go off on a mission. Harry was beyond thrilled at the chance to prove himself to his father. It was one thing to do well with schooling, a whole other to put that knowledge to practical use. As he gracefully walked over to the East Wing, knowing that even if the Lestranges and Malfoy were allowed to teach him they still weren't allowed in the main portion of the house, and entered the throne room his father often used to speak with his Death Eaters. However, to his surprise he was met not with just four Death Eaters, but will _all _of them.

Many different faces, some pale, tan, thin, fat, male, female, etc., but all of them seemed to be related in some way. Perhaps it was all the dark magic that exuded from each of their haunted eyes. Either way, Harry didn't allow any of his surprise to show. He merely cocked his head a bit to the left, long arms held together behind his back. He looked over at his father and let one thin black eyebrow rise, eyes betraying his amusement. The Dark Lord smirked in his direction, a look most of the Death Eaters present weren't familiar with. His father waved him over lazily, but Harry could tell that his father was excited to introduce him to his Death Eaters. Surprisingly, his father was pretty normal when it came to his feelings for his son. One of those prominent feelings being the need to show him off.

As he slowly glided over, Harry asked his father with his eyes, or more like with Leginimency, whether or not he was expected to kneel or even kiss the hem of his robes. Voldemort frowned slightly, and shook his head. He would never make his heir, no _son, _bow to him. It just wasn't _right. _Seven years ago he wouldn't have felt that way, but now, for the first time, he had someone he genuinely cared for. It was a weakness that he wouldn't give up for the world. And since he would literally have that in a little under a decade if his plans went smoothly that was saying something. Harry nodded in response, still gracing his father with a bow even if he wouldn't have required it. Ruby deserved that respect, whether Harry was his son or not.

He tossed one of his spare rings into the air and transfigured it into a emerald green, padded, but straight chair like his father's throne. He kept a few of those rings on him constantly for this exact purpose. Besides, he needed to practice Transfiguration whenever he could since it was his weakest subject. He took a seat without turning his back to the many Death Eaters in front of him, the unbelieving and jealous glances not bothering him in the slightest. He lightly crossed one leg over the other and leaned back, one elbow on the hard armrest, and leaned his head on it. One stray curl fell in his face, but he let it be. It would just fall again if he moved it and he _wouldn't _embarrass himself in front of his father's soldiers.

He saw Bella start grinning in his direction and she soon began cackling. Harry winked in her direction; her antics would never cease to amuse him. Voldemort quickly got to business though, and the slightest movement of his body brought everyone in the room to attention. It was impossible to ignore the man. His red eyes glowed in the dark room and many had to suppress a chill at the feel of his dark and seductive magic. It only seemed to have become more powerful over the past seven years. Only Lord Voldemort and his son knew why. It turned out that the many horcruxes Voldemort had made, had weakened his magic considerably. To a man any less powerful than he, all that soul-splitting would have killed them. So, when Voldemort had discovered this, he had naturally absorbed his horcruxes back. First he did the diary, which held the largest portion of his soul, then the Hufflepuff cup and Ravenclaw's diadem. He had kept both the necklace and ring, not wishing to completely give up his immortality.

However, while he had done this he had also discovered that his adoptive son was in fact a horcrux as well. It had been hard to tell since by that point Harry had already become his son, so his magic had turned dark and his aura became similar to that of Voldemort's. Beforehand, if the Dark Lord had checked, he would have easily seen that a piece of his soul was stuck in his heir. Before the ritual, Harry's magic had been overwhelmingly light, but in the corner was a familiar piece of dark that would have been a dead giveaway if he had been looking. However, at Harry's reaction to Voldemort ring when he had shown it to him when he was 11, he had known immediately.

After another very painful ritual, the soul shard was removed from Harry, but to both of their delights, Harry kept the Parseltongue skill. Voldemort said it was because of the adoptive ritual Harry had that power, but Harry was just grateful that he kept it. He would have been extremely saddened to find he could never speak to Caligula again, who was the snake Harry had been given when he was four from Sirius. The beautiful and rare serpent had escaped from the Potter home when Harry was moved to the Dursleys, but hadn't stopped looking for his master for a second. At nine, Voldemort gifted his son with Caligula, a serpent he had had the pleasure of meeting while speaking to a pack of werewolves in Wales. As a gift, he gave him to Harry, but on the second of meeting they recognized each other, making the gift _so _much more valuable to him.

Once he removed the portion of his soul from Harry, instead of absorbing it like he had done with the others, he had put it into another object. That being Harry's journal. At Harry's surprise and distress, Voldemort had merely shaken his head and sat Harry down for one of their most bonding moments.

_Flashback_

"_You are the only person I truly trust in this world Harry. Over the past few years you've proven yourself to me in more ways than you even know. I know you would never allow my soul to be discovered, let alone damaged." Even then Harry had refused to keep something so important. Even if Voldemort trusted him, he didn't trust himself. The Dark Lord had just put a whole bunch of special Parseltongue wards onto the object, making it impervious to things like fire and made it's dark aura unable to be seen or felt by anyone besides a speaker of Parseltongue. "Besides, my young Harry, even if it is destroyed, it shall return to me as long as I have a body. And I shan't ever become that wraith again." _

_End Flashback_

Memories of that day never failed to make Harry smile. Knowing that someone trusted him so completely...well, he would _never _betray that trust. The book, since it had a horcrux within it, gave Harry the ability to talk with Voldemort through those pages. Since it was such a small portion of his father's soul, just 1/64 of the entire thing, it couldn't speak to him as his father said the diary could have. However, it was a link to Voldemort's mind, so they could speak, no matter where Harry was. He had a feeling that without that ability Harry wouldn't have been able to go on this mission. Like he had said, his father was _very _protective.

Said man's voice cut through his thoughts like butter, for not even he was immune to his father's presence and listened in the same rapt attention as he had when he was seven years old. The man had not changed a bit, his powerful wizarding blood keeping him young, along with his horcruxes. His father had told him that his body would eventually decay at about four hundred years, so each time he would need to create another. Harry had no idea who would help him, but before he himself died he would make sure that his father had someone to help him come back. Even if Harry had no intentions of living forever, he would do anything to make sure his father's wishes came true. Secretly though, Harry hoped that his father would allow himself to die at four hundred. He didn't want to be alone in the afterlife and he definitely didn't want his father to be alone on Earth.

"My fellow Death Eaters, I'm sure you're surprised at the sight of an unknown young man who doesn't kneel at my feet or sit among you. This wizard is actually, in fact, my son and heir."

At Voldemort's exclamation, not one person did look shocked or surprised. Not even Lucius or the Lestranges had known Harry was Lord Voldemort's son, just that he was favored as his heir, not that he would ever need one. Not one expression crossed Harry's serene face, but internally he was smirking evilly, as was his father.

"You are to treat him as you would treat me. In all sense of the word, he is my equal." Suddenly, the dark seductive magic in the air turned cold and oppressive. However, Voldemort's expression did not change. It stayed as happy and serene as his son's. His eyes flared with threats and cold anger though.

"If I hear even a _whisper _that any of you have even _thought_ of harming my son, you shall be tortured by _me, _**_personally_**." At his words, no one failed to shiver, and more than a few whimpered in terror. Lord Voldemort wasn't known for getting his hands dirty. Yes, if you didn't fulfill a task or made a mistake he would _Crucio _you for a minute or two, but the hardcore torture he spoke of was mostly done by either Bellatrix or another high ranking Death Eater. The last person their Lord had personally tortured hadn't been gifted death for _years. _No one wanted to be in that position. Not like Regulus Black.

"Am I understood?" the Dark Lord whispered, but no one had any trouble hearing. Various nods were seen and just as quick as it came, the cold magic disappeared and went back to what it was.

"_Excellent. _Now, what our next plan will consist of-" Voldemort spoke, but Harry drowned him out.

The only mission he was worried about right now was the one he was going to be sent on. Besides, what he was saying was probably just a mixture of a pep talk, a few warnings, and the light outline of an actual plan his father would undoubtedly tell him about in depth later. Since even the lower ranked Death Eaters were present, there was no way he was speaking of anything important. Only his Inner Circle was trusted with real plans. Both he and Ruby were aware that there were traitors in his army, but that was okay. This way, they could send false information to the Order of the Phoenix without even trying. As they all started leaving, besides Bella, the Lestranges, and surprisingly _both _Malfoy's, Harry focused deadly green eyes again, but didn't sit up. He _was _comfy after all.

"I swear, young Mr. Riddle, all those years of Pureblood etiquette went through one ear and completely out the other." Red eyes darkened a bit, not sure if Malfoy was actually berating his son or not, only _he _was allowed to do that, but his perfect Harry just gave a low chuckle and straightened up, however, he left long legs crossed.

His son gave an easy smile to Malfoy and Voldemort reveled in the feeling of his heart warming at the sight. In the first few years of knowing Harry and raising him, he had felt much that he hadn't understood. Never before had he cared for another, but his boy had managed to worm his way into his cold, brutal heart. Nagini had slowly helped him realize that he actually _loved _Harry, but platonically of course, and at first he had been bent on getting rid of him immediately.

The gift of Caligula, as he was now called, was actually a murder attempt, he was guilty to admit. When he had met the rare and deadly snake in a forest, he had asked him if he wouldn't mind killing someone for him. The snake had readily agreed, as long as Voldemort helped him find his master. Usually the Dark Lord would have just killed Harry himself, but all those nights he had tried, he had just been able to stare at those damned ebony curls strewn across a silver pillow and small pink mouth slightly open, his small chest moving up and down being the only sign he was even alive. He hadn't even been able to lift his wand at the boy, but one time, when Harry had been on his belly, he had gotten close, but then the _idiot _child HAD to whisper his nickname, Ruby, lovingly and snuggle even deeper into the covers.

Damn child.

Knowing that the poison would kill Harry in under five seconds gave him the comfort that he wouldn't have to watch caring emeralds catch on to his plan, as he surely would, and turn to the hateful ones that were just a shade darker when he thought of his relatives. He wouldn't be able to stand them being directed at him. So on Harry's ninth birthday, he made sure to make it extra special, giving in to Harry's demands of baking a red velvet cake by scratch with him and taught Harry the spell he had created a few decades ago that would allow you to fly without a broom.

Harry had always loved flying.

Then, when present time came he handed Harry a large blue and purple box with holes and a silver bow with a heavy heart and watched as his heir, his _son, _slowly tore off the paper. Just as Harry took off the lid, Voldemort knew he had made a mistake. He couldn't let Harry _die_. There was so much he knew he would miss. As he took off the top, visions of Harry's bright smile and painfully loving emerald eyes that now shared the same black strip his own had raced through his brain. A sharp pang of, _fear?, _ran through his, what he had thought to be, dead heart. If Harry died, he would never see those things again. They would never be directed at _him _again.

And suddenly, Voldemort couldn't take it.

He couldn't _stand _the idea of never feeling his heart warm at Harry's pure and innocent face. But it was too late. Just as he was about to stop Harry, he had already taken the lid off and the snake had sprung. Voldemort was just about to yell at the snake in Parseltongue, but internally knowing it was all for not, but there was no need. Right before the snake bit Harry, he stopped and sniffed him.

Both he and Harry shared the same look of disbelief and he whispered, -Caligula?- and the snake hissed, -Master?- at the same time.

Harry looked up and his caring and love filled emeralds and bright smile were once again aimed at him and Voldemort literally sighed in relief that he had been able to see them once more. Nagini internally smirked in the corner, knowing that her Tom had finally accepted his love for their snake-child. She knew it would have only been a matter of time.

Ever since that day, Voldemort had become more open with his care for Harry, not that anyone else knew, and his son made sure not to hold back in his own love. The Dark Lord also just happened to develop a weakness for green eyes as well, and could understand where Severus came from for once. They really _were _quite wonderful.

"Please, all because I don't actually _use _the lessons doesn't mean I don't know them. Do you dare doubt my eidetic memory Mr. Malfoy?" He grinned. Lucius smirked in response and tilted his head up, long white-blond hair falling across his shoulders.

"Of course not young Master Riddle. I wouldn't _ever _dare."

Harry's grin then turned into one of his famous bright smiles and went to hug Lucius. His smile dimmed a bit at Narcissa, he had never spent much time with her, but he still bent to kiss her hand nonetheless. Immediately after, Bellatrix ran over and engulfed him in a strong embrace, squeezing him so hard he couldn't breathe, literally. He took it without complaint though. With the first seven years of his life filled with neglect at first, then only hurt, he could admit he was a _bit _starved for affection. She gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek, dark brown eyes bright and gleeful. She cackled loudly and poked him in between the eyes, while whispering conspiratorially,

"You know, 'arry, you've given all the Death Eaters quite the scare. Can I pretty please use that to make them cry and wet themselves?" Harry looked over to his father and got a small shake of his head in reply. Harry sighed and patted Bella's head, which was covered in wild dark brown curls.

"Sorry Aunt Bella. No can do," then he leaned in and whispered into her ear, AK green eyes bright, "but you can always torture them if you _think _they may try to hurt me. Just a precautionary measure, right?" Her pout turned gleeful again, her insanity glowing from her eyes, which were staring adoringly at the only child she's ever loved.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you!" Harry carefully pulled away from the embrace and nodded at both of the other Lestrange's, eventually stealing a hug from Rudolphus, since he and Harry had always been closer than Harry had been with Rabastian.

"Now that your greetings have been fulfilled, each of you should know something. For the next year Harry shall be on a mission, so your services won't be required. You'll continue with the jobs you had beforehand. Am I understood?" Each of Harry's teachers, and friends, fell to the floor and muttered reverently, "Yes, my Lord." and quickly left through apparation, but Bella gave Harry an extra wink before she left, letting him know their correspondence wouldn't end entirely.

Once they were alone, Harry made sure to show his father the smile he had always seemed to prefer, one which he never showed anyone else, besides Sebastian of course, and gave him a quick hug. Voldemort relaxed instantly at the smell of cinnamon, raspberries, and vanilla that was just purely Harry. Mid-hug, Voldemort apparated the both of them to the library, a special place for both of them, for that's where most of their bonding had happened, and each sat in their favorite armchairs, the same ones each had been in when they talked the first day Harry had started to live with at Slytherin Manor.

"So, what do you want to start with Ruby?" Harry asked honestly, cutting right to the chase.

In some ways, Voldemort couldn't help but notice, his son was a complete Gryffindor. At times he could lack all the finesse that you had to have to be a proper manipulator and was just so _innocent _that it hurt at times. That was one reason why he had been so hesitant to allow Harry on a mission. Anyone else would have had that innocence burned out of them the second they came in Voldemort's presence, but not his Harry. Since Harry was _his, _he could be however he wanted to be, for no matter what, _nothing _would happen to his boy. But this was only in his company of course and perhaps that friend of his, Sebastian. To anyone else, he was the perfect Slytherin, or more like the reincarnation of Tom Riddle.

At times, it surprised Voldemort how much Harry was like his younger self. It surprised him because he rarely talked about how he was in school, just that he had formed the Knights of Walpurgis and had come from an orphanage. Harry had actually been the first person to know since Dumbledore that he came from St. Wool's Orphanage, and only Harry knew he had been abused. While he had never been..._touched _like his Harry, which was something that still made him so angry that he couldn't even _stand _it, he had been beaten bloody and hated for the first 11 years of his life. He had also had to go through an exorcism, but not even Harry knew about that yet. There was only so much he could tell his 15 year old son, even if he was extremely mature for his age, just like Tom Riddle had been. Anyway, the boy could be just like his younger self when he wanted, something Voldemort was very proud of.

"Well, I thought we would begin with what your mission shall be." Harry's eyes brightened to an unimaginable degree and his bow-like mouth split into another smile.

"Oh thank you! I was worried you would take it back, but I'm ready. I want to help your cause father. You've given me so much. Now it's time for me to return the favor."

And that was another thing that worried Voldemort. To those his son was loyal to, he would do _anything. _He thanked Magic every day that he hadn't cursed his Harry. He knew that if the boy had survived, the world would have asked him to be their Chosen One, and since he would feel as if he owed the world, Voldemort had no doubt in his mind that Harry would have gone against him.

"You owe me nothing Harry. You've repaid me ten-fold already."

Harry shook his head slightly, wondering what his father meant. All Harry had done was be there and love his father. But Voldemort had done so much _more. _

"But that isn't the point. I promised you a mission, and that's what I'll give you." Harry lent forward in anticipation, a couple stray curls falling in his face but not caring at that point. Voldemort noticed though and thought, _Those damned curls. _And smiled.

"Harry, this year, I want you to gather information for me. Son, I want you to go to Hogwarts."

* * *

><p>Duh Duh Duhhhh. I know, cliffie's are mean. :D At least it isn't too bad.<p>

**READ THIS PLEASE: ****I know I updated last chapter with a note asking whether or not you guy's cared if I changed Harry's name, but with how I did this chapter I don't think I'll change it period. I'll probably just make his last name Riddle into another language so Dumbledore isn't suspicious, so forget about that and don't be worried. :)**

Oh, sorry that there was no Sebastian in this one. Next chapter you'll get a few flash backs in to his past, and how he feels about Harry. :) Also, sorry for those of you that wanted an extremely dark Harry and evil Voldemort. This chappie _was _a bit fluffy, but just so you know, **Voldemort** hasn't become a goody two shoes just because of Harry. The **only person he's nice to ****_is _****Harry**. To all other's he's gonna be MEAN. Also, don't think Harry is also muffins and unicorns either. What with **Harry's** past, he's **gonna be** pretty **bad**, just **not as bad as Voldemort or the Malicious Intentions Harry**. He is innocent and oblivious when it comes to some things, but in others he's rather naughty. :) Okay, enough chatter! I truly hoped you liked and maybe I'll be able to update again soon. Please** review and give me suggestions** on what you want for this story. I can't guarantee I'll make them happen, but I **don't have a complete plot made for this**, like I do with Bloody Love and a Sad Destiny, **so I need inspiration**! Anywho, have a wonderful existence and toodles. :)


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